Review Roundup: THE UNEXPECTED MAN At American Players Theatre

THE UNEXPECTED MAN at American Players Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin features Sarah Day as The Woman, and Brian Mani as The Man, with direction by Laura Gordon.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times: "Unexpected Man" shares Didion's contemplative tone and some of 'Skylight's' contemporary questions about loneliness and compromise. Some patrons will undoubtedly find Reza's unhurried probing of comfortable, middle class aging a bit tedious. Most plays in the Touchstone have higher stakes than "will they ever really see each other?" Yet the payoff of "Unexpected Man," for all its lack of fanfare, has an emotional core that's likely to appeal to some APT stalwarts. As Reza's author observes: "You've never done anything for no reason or for nobody. You don't create in a void. You throw bottles into the sea desperately hoping for a castaway."

Paul Kosidowski, Milwaukee Magazine: Director Laura Gordon and her actors create a lovely piece of music here. Not simply in the rhythms of the sentences (masterfully translated by Christopher Hampton), but in the ebbs and flows-the tensions and release-that bring the characters from the first few moments of the play (Mani's frostily skeptical discovery that he'll be sharing the compartment) to the final denouement. You know you've been in good theatre hands when you want to stop the lights from fading to see what is going to happen next.

Katie Reiser, Isthmus: Martha is tougher than she first appears. Day, whose eyes shine bright above enviable cheekbones, is on top of her game. She's particularly good during a monologue about a lengthy and flirtatious friendship that was ruined when the object of her affection married and started a family. Her mood alternates between sorrow over the death of a dear friend and uncertainty as she tries to determine what to do about the book in her bag and its author, sitting across from her...Mani, always a compelling performer, is especially fun to watch in this role, whether he is divulging (with a fair amount of self-awareness) his increasing bitterness, bemoaning the ravages of insomnia, ranting about a potential son-in-law or extolling the virtues of Ex-Lax. His bravado masks some self-doubt as he reels from recent criticism of his writing. With gestures small (a dismissive flick of his hand underscoring a sardonic statement) and large (a jubilant jig), Mani commands the space...The play, with its nuanced performances, addresses the complexities of being human and connecting with others, particularly as we age.

Michael Muckian, Wisconsin Gazette: From a physical standpoint, very little happens to either character during the 75-minute play. Yet, from an emotional perspective, entire worlds are changed as the pair ponders, doubts, and eventually connects in this often humorous and always emotionally revealing play. As far as the cast goes, Gordon couldn't have found a better pair than Mani and Day, two of APT's well-established and most evocative performers. Mani blusters and broods as befits a literary type not fooled by his own celebrity. He concerns himself with perceived negative comments an acquaintance has made about one of his novels, the shortfalls of his adult daughter's fiancé and the fear that he has become angry with age - 'The curve of my lip is bitter,' he sneers to no one in particular. Day is at once starry-eyed and reserved, a woman of age and, apparently, means, who is troubled by past memories and her growing crush on the author.

Photo: americanplayers.org

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