Fran (Cecily Strong) has little to clean but several emotional bags of laundry to process in John Patrick Shanley’s Brooklyn Laundry. When the stereotypical, cranky New Yorker drops her dirty clothes at Owen’s (David Zayas) shop, the two have a rocky exchange before reluctantly agreeing to a dinner date.
Vulnerabilities are laid bare, confessions are made, and sparks fly. But like any romantic comedy, the two will have insurmountable hurdles. Fran will face many surprises in 80 minutes, including a dying sister in a Pennsylvania trailer park, Trish (Florencia Lozano) and another sister Susie (Andrea Syglowski) who drops another startling revelation on Fran.
This small play seems to want to say more than it does. Although it has some tender moments, it’s saddled with dull dialogue that goes nowhere. Shanley is a master at mining what isn’t said in his characters and giving them full scope. In many ways, it feels as though there is more to explore here, and yet, for unknown reasons, Shanley restrains his tale too much.
Ultimately, one leaves feeling as though the laundry was taken out of the cycle too soon.
Brooklyn Laundry is now running Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theater Club's New York City Center Stage 1 through April 14th. For tickets and information, click here: manhattantheatreclub.com, brooklyn laundry.
Shanley fares better in a stirring and gripping new production of Doubt, his 2004 drama that swept the Tony awards and starred Cherry Jones and Brien F. O’Byrne (both of whom walked away with the little gold statues for their performances).
Scott Ellis leads a cast that is every bit as good as the original. It was originally announced that Tyne Daly would star, but an unexpected hospitalization opened the door for Oscar and two-time Tony nominee Amy Ryan, who jumped onto the Broadway stage with a week’s notice. Ryan assumes the lead role as Sister Aloysius, a stern and bitter nun who has no time for fun and believes that the song “Frosty the Snowman” is of the devil because of his magical powers. A real barrel of monkeys, that one.
Sister Aloysius is convinced that impropriety took place between Father Flynn (Liev Schreiber) and a student at the Catholic school, Donald Muller. She has not an ounce of proof except for the word of a younger nun, Sister James (Zoe Kazan). Sister James claims that she smelled alcohol on Muller’s breath when he returned from class after a meeting with Flynn.
Ellis keeps this production taut and suspenseful, much like the cat-and-mouse game that this play is. Arguably, Doubt is one of the finest contemporary dramatic works. The subtitle, A Parable is timelier now than ever given the rise of misinformation and flat-out lies that pervade us daily. It’s a strong lesson that facts and evidence truly matter when judging an individual’s character, motives, and integrity. Anything less is hearsay and potential reputation ruination.
Doubt is on Broadway through April 21st at the Todd Haimes Theater (West 42nd between Broadway and 8th). For tickets and information, click here: roundabouttheatre.org, performances.
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