Review: OUT OF CHARACTER at Theater J

The solo show Out of Character (now being produced as a joint production between Theater J and the Mosaic Theater) introduces us to the talented Tony award -winning actor and vocalist Ari’el Stachel (Broadway’s The Band’s Visit) ---Mr. Stachel also wrote this performance piece. The first part of this solo show portrays Mr. Stachel as a successful actor and musical performer (with a thrilling and evocative voice). As an upstage projection is shown, Mr. Stachel’s nuanced acting style is on full throttle as we witness him winning his Tony Award ----only to plunge into the depths of his anxiety and obsessive -compulsive disorder.

Acclaimed director Tony Taccone (he has helmed solo productions with Sarah Jones, Carrie Fisher, and John Leguizamo) does his best to keep this material afloat for its eighty minutes running-time and he has worked closely with Mr. Stachel to revise and adapt the writing (this work has been revised since the horrific October 7 attacks by Hamas).

However, the material is a bit on the repetitious side and is not always clearly delineated. Lighting and projections designer Alexander V. Nichols can only do so much with his projections ---I never felt that I was at a basketball court or in a university school room (scenarios described in the solo show).

As the next stage of this one-man show develops, Mr. Stachel delves into several characters from his life –as he must survive against bullying and perceived victimization (Mr. Stachel use of accents and mimicry throughout is outstanding). This autobiographical show portrays Mr. Stachel as a person who strives to please those who attempted to abuse him by adopting different identities/personas to survive the schoolyard, NYU, and the stress of auditions and even friendships.

This survival technique to integrate the many aspects of his character (Mr. Stachel is a person who was born in Berkeley, California, who was very anxiety-prone with OCD, son of a Yemeni father and an Ashkenazi Jewish mother, etc.) resulted in estrangement from his father (by Mr. Stachel’s own choice) and dropping out of NYU.

Though I am sympathetic with his search for integration amidst his struggle, the coping choices of subterfuge and disengagement from those close to him are hard to emotionally identify with ---but indeed, this is the reality that the audience is compelled to identify with. These complex strategies for survival and the concurrent chaos that these external and internal strategies for survival require, demand a very tautly developed script /book—but the content that is presented seems unclear and nebulous at times.

Paradoxically, the technically adroit and coiled intensity of Mr. Stachel’s amazing performance (which is “high-energy” to the max) as he commands the Edlavitch stage --- cannot obscure the self-indulgent and wallowing tone of much of the material. There needs to be equivalent doses of authentic identification with the many struggles any person has to go through and does go through on a daily basis. Healthy doses of humor should be injected into the piece as it is much too strident and wallowing in a masturbatory and insular tone (which is odd because, I am sure that the aim was to stress inclusivity and identification).

The intellectual and emotional connections that are not present may have arisen from the very statement that Mr. Stachel makes --- this statement is quoted verbatim from the program: “I’ve latched on to all of these different identities in an effort to try and somehow feel American. But what I’ve learned is that the idea of having a fractured identity is actually the very thing that is most American of all.” This is simple common sense; many immigrants I have known from my own extended family and friendship circle would find this statement to be obvious and true much earlier in their life experience. It takes many long years for Mr. Stachel’s persona to understand this according to this solo show.

Life is full of contradictions, complications and conundrums and recognition of this fact can help one to grow into awareness and maturity. By the last twenty minutes of this solo performance ---after the thrill of auditioning and gaining his part in The Band’s Visit and after the horror of the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas---Mr. Stachel rejoices in the fact that he should accept the contradictions in his life and that he can be fully “out of character”--- but this comes very late in the solo show and it is not capitalized on enough.

The result is a solo show that--- though extremely well-acted by Ari’el Stachel and obviously produced with good intent and some nice directorial flourishes ---is not cohesively rewarding enough to demand strong attention; the content and style do not totally gel. There is not enough meaningful and identifiable connection from the writing to give emotional and intellectual heft to the proceedings.

Running Time: 80 minutes with no intermission.

Out of Character runs through January 26, 2025, at the Edlavitch Theater of Theater J located at 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036.

Photo credit: Ariel Stachel in Out of Character. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photgraphy.

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