Review - Some Americans Abroad: They'd None of Them Be Missed

The idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone

All centuries but this, and every country but his own.

Though idiots like the academic assortment of Richard Nelson's Some Americans Abroad, his 1989 satire of Yankee cultural self-loathing, may be high on Gilbert and Sullivan's Lord High Executioner's little list of those whose loss would be a distinct gain to society at large, this verbose crew would undoubtedly escape the axman's blade. After all, they have tenure. And just like, as one character argues, a life sentence with no chance of execution gives a convict the freedom to kill a prison guard without fear of harsher punishment, tenure is the desired life sentence that defends these plastic-souled elitists against the consequences of their own ignorance.

With a bow to Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, the play chronicles between performance conversations among members of an unnamed northeastern college's English department who accompany a group of 22 (mostly unseen) students on a play-going tour of London and Stratford. As they judgmentally browse used book stores, complain about the political content in Shaw's plays, gather to sing "God Save The Queen" as the sun rises on Westminster Bridge, salivate over both the productions and the cheap buffet at the National Theatre (though regretting having scheduled two lengthy Shakespeare pieces on the same day) and do their darndest to avoid running into other Americans, British culture becomes a means of self-validation as a sensitive intellectual.

Though thin on plot, most of the evening spins around Joe, the young and newly appointed chairman of the department who is trying to establish leadership that is not exactly in his nature. Tom Cavanagh gives the character a nicely forced attempt at charm, smiling nervously and gesticulating fiercely when his passions rise. Joe's unpleasant task at hand is to tell the amiable Henry (a very pleasant and sympathetic Anthony Rapp) that he'll be relieved of his professorship next semester. Henry's a good guy, but having gone to the wrong school there's just no hope for him to get onto the tenure track at Unnamed U. Knowing his job was on the line, he and his wife, Betty (Emily Bergl), paid their own way for the trip, an expense they can't afford, to try and gain favor but with the inevitable coming nearer the grim Betty seems bent on reminding the others of their poverty for the remainder of their travels; not an effective strategy for this group, who routinely haggle over every detail when divvying up a dinner check.

Meanwhile, there's the matter of a student (Fiona Dourif) who has been skipping plays in order to hook up with her boyfriend, and two professors, the loud and argumentative Philip (Corey Stoll) and the reserved Frankie (Enid Graham) who have been using these annual trips to carry on an adulterous affair. Each little crisis reveals the out-for-yourself attitude that permeates through the hearts of the main characters. While claiming enrichment through great literature, these not especially likeable people are distinctly lacking in the humanity it teaches.

While Nelson's satirical darts are not the sharpest in the pub and the targets they hit are quite wide, director Gordon Edelstein 's production still provides plenty of smirks and some good, solid laughs, despite a general pacing that seems to sustain the same workmanlike level for length of the piece. While never quite trudging (though set designer Michael Yeargan's concept of having the actors bring on tables and chairs for each scene, then placing them upstage in a clutter when finished slows things down a bit) the production rarely peaks. When it does, it's usually because of stand-out performances from supporting players. Halley Feiffer perkily mines all the sly humor from her role as the former student of Joe's, now a Londoner, who makes great efforts to avoid being recognized as an American. Todd Weeks is very funny in his one scene as a sincere, but over chatty American tourist who strikes up a conversation with Joe. John Cunningham is spot-on hilarious as the multi-bigoted former chairman who is a fountain of inappropriate observations. ("Too bad he isn't black," is his response to Henry's unsuccessful job search.) Pamela Payton-Wright is very sweet as his gracious wife and Cristin Milioti does nicely as Joe's daughter (also a student) who gives us some hope that the younger generation of Americans abroad may prove more honorable ambassadors.

With the exchange rate what it is these days Londoners should be running into far fewer Americans abroad this summer. Perhaps it's time for some clever playwright to jot down a couple of acts about Brits visiting New York to see Broadway musicals. But that, dear readers, is an entirely different story.