The Obie Award-winning production of GRIEF HOTEL from Clubbed Thumb's acclaimed Summerworks returns for a limited engagement at The Public.
Loss is fast, but grief is slow. Aunt Bobbi’s going to try to make everyone feel better, even though her parties are cursed.
Written by Liza Birkenmeier and directed by Tara Ahmadinejad, both of whom received Obie Awards for their work on this production, GRIEF HOTEL features the original cast: Susan Blommaert, Nadine Malouf, Bruce McKenzie, Ana Nogueira, Susannah Perkins and Naren Weiss.
What’s more, this particular show is a sneaky marvel. Rather than handing you tidy packages of exposition, Grief Hotel trusts you to fall into an already rushing river, find a branch, and hang on.
Playwright Liza Birkenmeier doesn’t make it immediately easy to grasp the gist of her quirky play, Grief Hotel. It starts with Aunt Bobbi – Susan Blommaert, queen of the deadpan delivery – planted in her armchair stage left. Updating the layout after the show’s fleeting premiere at the cramped Wild Project last summer, the design collective dots has sliced the Public’s smallest stage into a sharp, shallow wedge, lending the fast-paced, one-act play – deftly directed by Tara Ahmadinejad – a splayed, in-your-face feel.
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