Review: The Vietnamization of New Jersey

Chris Durang's The Vietnamization of New Jersey is receiving it's long-overdue New York premier at The Beckett Theater. According to their website, the Alchemy Theatre Company "aims to explore the boundaries of theatrical storytelling, seeking greater immediacy in recording the human condition." Well, push boundaries they do in this aggressive staging of Durang's dissection of the American family during the Vietnam era. From their website:

What's a patriotic mother to do when her beloved son returns from Vietnam sooooooooo bummed out? A scathing satire of American Family "Values," Christopher Durang's The Vietnamization of New Jersey is an outrageous, diabolical romp through 1960's suburbia where the Left, Right, and Middle (Class) are all in the crosshairs. Ozzie Ann, Harry, Et... and the irrepressible Davey... battle for the soul of the family unit; fortunately Hazel, their always helpful and handy housekeeper, is there to provide much needed answers!

The conflict that arises between the family members is frequently comedic and consistently disturbing. Nick Westrae shines as the teenage son of pushover WASP parents, rebelling in a series of insane ways, from shoving his corn flakes down his pants to making out with his war-veteran brother's wife (oh, and the brother happens to be blind). And that's only the beginning. James Duane Polk also lights up the stage in a hilarious gender-bending turn as the family's African-American maid, who seems at first to care for the family, but may have it in for them just as much as they do for each other. Michael Cyril Creighton, of Rip Me Open fame, makes the most of the smallish role of Father McGillicutty, the nervous and probably-gay priest who advises the family to embrace war in Vietnam, famine, poverty, and even homosexuality as god's plan for population control. Creighton's Father McGillicutty is brimming with nervous tics and hesitation, the most believable of all the characters who are at their wits end.

The unfortunate aspect of the play is the unfocused, halting manner in which it's been staged by director Robert Saxner. Durang works best when it's played at a clip, naturalistically, with the bizarreness accepted by the characters and production as a part of everyday life. This production seems to call needless attention to every quirk and oddity in Durang's script, losing much of the humor by pointing effortfully at it. Of course, it is in previews, and some elements are sure to strengthen as they settle into performances.

It's impossible to see a dramatization of American life during the Vietnam war and not reflect on our own times, and the similarities between the two. Aside from a few delightful performances, the play is worth seeing as a means of reflection on how truly scary and uncertain our times are, and how little we may have learned from all that happened in the 1970's.

The Vietnamization of New Jersey runs at Theatre Row's The Beckett Theater through January 28th.