Review: The Pain and the Itch

Moxie recently saw the invited dress of The Pain and the Itch at Playwrights Horizons, and I must say, I was quite taken with it. It's a hysterical and fascinating play that raises many, many issues of class, race, politics, family, etc in new ways, exploring the hypocrisy of where so many Americans sit these days, martini-in-hand, bemoaning Bush, middle America, the war, etc, while still being shockingly short-sighted, selfish, racist, and narcissistic. Thankfully, Bruce Norris gracefully dances across these topics in a witty style that rarely gets preachy.

Essentially, it's about one upper-middle class family's Thanksgiving celebration. Things go terribly wrong, with strong familial tensions underfoot, an avocado-munching monster stalking the halls upstairs, and a neglected 4-year-old daughter in need of medical attention.

What ensues brought back memories of The Goat, the way that was funny, and at times reminded me of so many families I grew up around, while still being about out-of-this-world, controversial, and at times even horrifying issues.

Jayne Houdyshell is so dynamic as the Grandma of the house, both terrifically informed courtesy of PBS programming and terrifically ignorant in spite of herself. Reg Rogers is half plastic surgeon in the style of nip/tuck, half 50's movie star, Clark Gable or somesuch. The other performances will certainly lock into place and gain strengh, considering how Moxie saw such an early pre-preview.

The Pain and the Itch runs at Playwrights Horizons Sept 1 thru Oct 8.

Photo: Jayne Houdyshell, courtesy of Playbill online