Review: STRAIGHT WHITE MEN at Westport Country Playhouse

The Westport Country Playhouse is always open to plays that make "theater worth talking about." So, it was no surprise that it is presenting Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men. Lee has been lauded by The New York Times as "the most adventurous downtown playwright of her generation" and by Time Out Magazine as "one of the best experimental playwrights in America."

Although Westport Country's Playhouse patrons loved the show, this critic has some issues with the 2014 play, which was the first play written by an Asian American to be produced on Broadway.

The show begins with loud rap music. Performers Akiko Akita and Ashton Muñiz open it each as "Person in Charge" and explain their backgrounds as nonbinary actors and the rules of the theatre. "Each of the actors will play only one character. They will stay in character and pretend not to see you." That is often the case in plays. Even if an actor plays multiple roles, he will pretend not to see the audience. Muñiz and Akita are an absolute delight to watch as performers but quite frankly, the parts are superfluous to the play. (Pulitzer prize-winning Donald Margulies assigns his Yale students to read Our Town at the beginning of the semester. He rereads it every year and says he gets more out of it each time. There's a reason this bare-bones play has been produced so often since its debut nearly 100 years ago.) We get that most people are accepting of others of different backgrounds and sexual orientations. But this is 2022, not 2014, and that message doesn't need to be in our faces, especially since the introduction has nothing to do with the play.

The play is about widower Ed (Richard Kline) who celebrates each Christmas with his three sons, all in their 40s. Their Christmas rituals include eating Chinese food, drinking eggnog, watching a movie, wearing plaid pajamas, horseplay, and this year, facing a family crisis. Matt (Denver Milord), the eldest, was the most promising son. A graduate of Harvard, he wanted to devote his career to doing good. But that was unfulfilling as he realized he was teaching the people of Ghana useless skills that they didn't want to learn anyway. Jake (Bill Army) is a recently divorced father of two and a prosperous banker. Drew (Nick Westrate) is a successful professor and novelist who is wary of commitment and a big believer in psychotherapy. When Matt starts to cry inexplicably at dinner, they all speculate about what is bothering him. Recently, he moved back home with his father after working at an unfulfilling job with a nonprofit. Ed gives him a check to pay off his college loans. Jake thinks that they should just leave Matt alone. Drew urges therapy.

The crux of their concern for Matt is about success and his failure to pursue it. Their late mother, an arch liberal, created a game called Privilege based on Monopoly. "If you're white, go directly to jail. Do not pass go." He who gets the iron gets an "undervalued domestic labor bonus." They all realize that they are privileged - not necessarily seriously rich - but privileged nonetheless. All, except Matt, are considered worthy because they achieved financial and social success. That is certainly a theme worth exploring, and Lee gets it almost right. The play would have been stronger by going more into depth about what it means to be successful today. And why should that be limited to straight white men? This is an issue for any group. The play has an abrupt and unsatisfying ending with no resolution.

The strengths of this production are the reliable direction of Mark Lamos and the performers. Kline, Westrate, Army, and Milford were all very plausible as a lonely father and his middle-aged sons. Akita and Muñiz did everything they could with their debatable roles. It would be nice to see them perform in more significant roles. Kristen Robinson's set was a nice family room decorated with Christmas stockings over a fireplace, dart board on the wall, and lovingly used recliner and couch. Alison Solomon's choreography was a hoot in the scene where the sons sing "Oklahoma" in a biting satire of the Ku Klux Klan ("Oklahoma, OKKK") and Michael Rossmy's fight direction was wonderful, as always. Note to Mark Lamos: Put that scene on YouTube and watch it go viral.

Straight White Men runs through June 5 at the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court in Westport. For tickets call (203) 227-4177 or visit www.westportplayhouse.org. Don't forget to bring your mask and proof of vaccination. Follow Westport Country Playhouse on Twitter @WCPlayhouse and Instagram @ wcplayhouse.

The Westport Country Playhouse is always open to plays that make "theater worth talking about." So, it was no surprise that it is presenting Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men. Lee has been lauded by The New York Times as "the most adventurous downtown playwright of her generation" and by Time Out Magazine as "one of the best experimental playwrights in America."

Although Westport Country's Playhouse patrons loved the show, this critic has some issues with the 2014 play, which was the first play written by an Asian American to be produced on Broadway.

The show begins with loud rap music. Performers Akiko Akita and Ashton Muñiz open it each as "Person in Charge" and explain their backgrounds as nonbinary actors and the rules of the theatre. "Each of the actors will play only one character. They will stay in character and pretend not to see you." That is often the case in plays. Even if an actor plays multiple roles, he will pretend not to see the audience. Muñiz and Akita are an absolute delight to watch as performers but quite frankly, the parts are superfluous to the play. (Pulitzer prize-winning Donald Margulies assigns his Yale students to read Our Town at the beginning of the semester. He rereads it every year and says he gets more out of it each time. There's a reason this bare-bones play has been produced so often since its debut nearly 100 years ago.) We get that most people are accepting of others of different backgrounds and sexual orientations. But this is 2022, not 2014, and that message doesn't need to be in our faces, especially since the introduction has nothing to do with the play.

The play is about widower Ed (Richard Kline) who celebrates each Christmas with his three sons, all in their 40s. Their Christmas rituals include eating Chinese food, drinking eggnog, watching a movie, wearing plaid pajamas, horseplay, and this year, facing a family crisis. Matt (Denver Milord), the eldest, was the most promising son. A graduate of Harvard, he wanted to devote his career to doing good. But that was unfulfilling as he realized he was teaching the people of Ghana useless skills that they didn't want to learn anyway. Jake (Bill Army) is a recently divorced father of two and a prosperous banker. Drew (Nick Westrate) is a successful professor and novelist who is wary of commitment and a big believer in psychotherapy. When Matt starts to cry inexplicably at dinner, they all speculate about what is bothering him. Recently, he moved back home with his father after working at an unfulfilling job with a nonprofit. Ed gives him a check to pay off his college loans. Jake thinks that they should just leave Matt alone. Drew urges therapy.

The crux of their concern for Matt is about success and his failure to pursue it. Their late mother, an arch liberal, created a game called Privilege based on Monopoly. "If you're white, go directly to jail. Do not pass go." He who gets the iron gets an "undervalued domestic labor bonus." They all realize that they are privileged - not necessarily seriously rich - but privileged nonetheless. All, except Matt, are considered worthy because they achieved financial and social success. That is certainly a theme worth exploring, and Lee gets it almost right. The play would have been stronger by going more into depth about what it means to be successful today. And why should that be limited to straight white men? The play has an abrupt and unsatisfying ending with no resolution.

The strengths of this production are the reliable direction of Mark Lamos and the performers. Kline, Westrate, Army, and Milford were all very plausible as a lonely father and his middle-aged sons. Akita and Muñiz did everything they could with their debatable roles. It would be nice to see them perform in more significant roles. Kristen Robinson's set was a nice family room decorated with Christmas stockings over a fireplace, dart board on the wall, and lovingly used recliner and couch. Alison Solomon's choreography was a hoot in the scene where the sons sing "Oklahoma" in a biting satire of the Ku Klux Klan ("Oklahoma, OKKK") and Michael Rossmy's fight direction was wonderful, as always. Note to Mark Lamos: Put that scene on YouTube and watch it go viral.

Straight White Men runs through June 5 at the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court in Westport. For tickets call (203) 227-4177 or visit www.westportplayhouse.org. Don't forget to bring your mask and proof of vaccination. Follow Westport Country Playhouse on Twitter @WCPlayhouse and Instagram @ wcplayhouse.

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