The Stone Carver

Well, let's just say it's been a slow summer for NYC theatre - and this show is no exception. The Stone Carver, at the SoHo Playhouse is a show that actually ran for the first time over ten years ago with a different title, and was directed by Doug Hughes (one of the "hot" directors right now, most known for Doubt), interestingly enough. It's taken all that time to get the show to NYC - probably the pinnacle of its run.

You wouldn't know it from the title, but the show is actually centered around the topic of eminent domain. Set entirely in a kitchen, we are drawn into the life of an elderly stone carver (played by Dan Lauria better known as the father from The Wonder Years), his son, and the son's fiancee. As the show opens, we see this stone carver shoot at someone who tries to enter his property. This someone turns out to be his son, who he hasn't spoken to in over five years. The son brings his fiancee for the first time to meet his father. We learn that their real intention here is to convince the old man that he must give up his house. This is the last day before it is about to be bulldozed by the state to make way for a new road which will be a freeway exit.

The three of them exchange many words to each other throughout the bulk of the play - since the father and son are Italian, the dialogue is sprinkled with Italian phrases. I do have to say that in most cases hearing bits of Italian thrown into conversation can feel overdone, and it has certainly been used tremendously in the past. Here, though, Dan Lauria seems to bring a nice new energy to his role - I really appreciated what that he did as much as he could with what he had to work with. We learn that the father and son had a rough childhood together - never getting along. The old man's wife has passed away several years ago and since that time, a huge rift has grown between he and his son. There's one absurd part of the show where they stage a boxing match in the kitchen; it lasts for about 10 minutes and during that time the fiancee bangs a metal spoon against a pan about 20 times - ANNOYING to say the least. But that's probably the nicest compliment I could give to this actress who played the fiancee. She was really awful - I think someone off of the street could act better than this woman.

Regardless, the play did have some relevant points. Growing up in VA, I can remember several people's properties being seized by the county or state to make way for new roads. It's a terrible situation to be put in - and worse, one that you have no control over. I sympathized greatly with this old man, this stone carver, and understood that his entire life and all of his memories (esp of his wife) were centered around this home he had built. I just wish, however, that all of the scenes I had to endure to get to the meaningful moments would somehow have been better structured and better directed.