SETH RUDETSKY’S UNBROKEN CIRCLE TAKES YOU ON AN EMOTIONAL RIDE
Unbroken Circle, an Off-Broadway play written by James Wesley, elicits laughs, gasps and emotions that you may not have been in touch with in years, if ever. The play is haunting and will make you think. I attended Unbroken Circle on its opening night last week – and I’m still talking about it.
The play is set in 1970 Galveston Island, TX, just after the burial of a family’s patriarch. The family returns home to begin the process of mourning and healing and we learn that dysfunction is normal for this family. Wesley, who plays Bobby, the son of the deceased, based his play on aspects of his own extended family and Unbroken Circle is a disturbing yet thoughtful story that deals with incest, secrets, lies and human frailty. The play unfolds slowly and the second act delivers a one-two punch to the gut that left the audience breathless. Comic relief comes in the form of Eve Plumb, (Jan from TV’s The Brady Bunch) who plays June, a hypocritical, alcoholic and tarted up born again Christian. She deftly feeds the audience her snappy one liners of sugar-coated vinegar and we are happy to eat them up, so welcome is her presence. Suzanna Hay (A Month in the Country, Dance of Death) movingly portrays Ruby, the suffering, strong and secretive matriarch – but the play belongs to Anika Larsen (Avenue Q, Xanadu) as Ruby’s damaged daughter who managed to escape the family before becoming totally destroyed. Larsen, in a believable and natural performance, is, quite simply, marvelous and some of the best scenes are the ones she shares with Plumb.
The play, which is produced by actor, writer, musician, Emmy Award nominee and SiriusXM Radio Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and Mary J. Davis, will no doubt, summon comparisons with August: Osage County but make no mistake, Unbroken Circle is a work unto itself. See it at St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 West 46th Street, New York. Ticket prices are $36.50-$59.50. Call 212-239-6200 for information and tickets. You can also buy tickets on Telecharge. And, for more information about the cast and crew, visit the play’s homepage. Unbroken Circle runs through September 8, 2013.
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