Review: Theatre Artists Studio Presents Sharyn Rothstein's BY THE WATER

The complexities of human relationships and the existential choices people must make in times of crisis are at the center of Sharyn Rothstein's plays (All the Days, Neglect, The Invested, Queen Bee).

In BY THE WATER, the Brooklyn-based playwright and recipient of The American Theatre Critics Association's Francesca Primus Prize, fixes her focus on the dynamics of a family bereft in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's devastation. It's a fitting play at a time when conventions, traditions, and truths are being tempest-tossed by the sinister winds of cynicism.

Set in the shambles of Marty and Mary Murphy's Staten Island home (set design by J.P. Clemente), the couple must decide whether to remain and rebuild or accept a government buyout and relocate. The choice is an excruciating one. It pits the Murphys against long-time neighbors who have chosen to move on. It also raises to the surface the hitherto unspoken tensions and conflicting interests among the parents and their sons, Sal and Brian.

The play, running through April 24th at Theatre Artists Studio, benefits from the well-paced direction of Janis Webb and the finely-drawn performances of her seasoned cast.

Walt Pedano is formidable as the man at the center of the human storm after the natural storm. The community (the concept of community) that Marty holds dear is unraveling, drifting away to safer climes, denying the possibility and practicality of restoration. Despite the impassioned pleas of his lifelong friends Phillip and Andrea (powerhouse performances by Al Benneian and KatiBelle Collins) to leave the battered area, Marty mounts a campaign to challenge the government's plan. Marty is flying solo (swimming upstream, as it were) in his tenacious effort to preserve an idea at the risk of losing friendship. It's in the eye of this struggle that Pedano excels at conveying his character's anguish. His voice rasps with the pained rhythms of a man struggling to stay afloat but being weighed down by secrets that, when revealed, will capsize his already brittle family. Marty has other reasons to stand his ground.

As Mary, Carol Gibson combines an innate warmth and innocence with an anxiety that bespeaks a deep concern about Marty's designs. When Marty finally comes clean, Gibson sheds Mary's innocence and magnifies the character of a woman whose trust has been betrayed but who yet holds the chalice of forgiveness.

While Marty is raging against the winds of change, his sons have their own oars to ply. Christopher Dorto delivers an intense performance as Sal, the Manhattan-based son who made it off the Island but yearns still for a more meaningful relationship with his father. His strident efforts to persuade Marty to change course hit a brick wall.

As Brian, recently released from jail, Ben Rojek shines as the brother who just wants to make things better and, in an endearing side story featuring a stellar turn by Larah Pawlowski, wants to make it with old flame and newly divorced Emily.

BY THE WATER invokes questions about what defines a home and what constitutes community. It wraps the riddles around the imperfections and frailties of real people in times of crisis. So, what then remains after a disaster washes away all material things? In BY THE WATER, the answer may simply be the love of family and fidelity to truth.

BY THE WATER runs through April 24th at:

Theatre Artists Studio ~ 12406 N Paradise Village Parkway East, Scottsdale, AZ ~ www.thestudiophx.org ~ 602-765-0120

Poster credit to Theatre Artists Studio

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