Adam Rapp @ 59E59 Theaters
TuTheatre is presenting the NYC premiere of The Edge of Our Bodies with a memorable Off-Broadway staging at 59E59 Theaters.
By: Patrick Christiano
April 10, 2018: Carolyn Molloy, who’s credits include Chicago’s Steppenwolf theatre, is Bernadette, in Adam Rapp’s The Edge of Our Bodies, a compelling coming of age tale, which opened last night at 59E59 Theaters. The gifted actress turns in a vivid peformance in a memorable staging directed by Jacqueline Stone in the intimate theater.
Bernadette is a 16-year-old aspiring short story writer, who performs in her school plays and is on the verge of becoming an adult. We follow her as she treks by train from her Connecticut boarding school to New York City with a secret to tell her 19-year old boyfriend, she is pregnant. She is crazy in love with her boyfriend, Michael, who is going to Brown at the end of the Summer. On the train she begins to read aloud from her journal, recounting scenes from her life so far.
Her plan to surprise her boyfriend leads to unexpected events. She has an awkward conversation with an elder man on the train. She visit’s Michael’s dying father, and she goes to a bar in the Village, where she pretends to be an NYU student. Sometimes she tells the truth, sometimes she doesn’t, but she never connects with Michael.
Playing Bernie, Carolyn Malloy is alone on stage for almost the entire play. She delivers an impressive performance moving easily from witty youthful sophistication to adolescent yearning. And she plays several parts in conversations that Bernie has with the strangers she meets along the way. The staging is presented as if Bernie were reading aloud from one of her short stories, and there are some moving and haunting moments, however, the evening feel like a clever gimmick to showcase the gifted Carolyn Malloy.
The gritty tale, by the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-finalist, is still a beautifully written 80- minute look into the life altering events of a lovely young artist as she journeys to maturity.
Robert James Hickey makes a brief appearance as a maintenance man near the end of the evening, otherwise The Edge of Our Bodies is a polished showcase for the lovely Carolyn Molloy making her Off-Broadway debut.
The design team includes Martin Andrew (scenic design); Keith Parham (lighting design); Branimira Ivanova (costume design); Joe Court (sound design); and Letitia Guillaud (prop design). The Production Stage Manager is Andrew C. Donnelly. Adam Rapp (playwright) is an award-winning playwright and director.
The Edge Of Our Bodies
The performance schedule is Tuesday – Friday at 7:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM; and Sunday at 2:30 PM. There is an added performance on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison). Single tickets are $25 ($20 for 59E59 Members). Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212 279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org.
Photography: Anthony LaPenna
