Photo by Joan Marcus

review: grace...by gordin & christiano

Grace, an acclaimed hit by Mick Gordon and AC Grayling, at London's Soho Theater is having its American premiere at the MCC Theater, with Lynn Redgrave in the title role. The distinguished actor is a commanding presence as Grace, a British science professor who calls herself a "naturalist" and has little need for God. She insists that the belief in a higher power or divine being is "bollocks, complete and utter bollocks!"

Grace's staunch views are intellectually examined in this new family drama when her son, Tom (Oscar Isaac), announces that he has decided to give up his law practice to become an Episcopal priest. The story, a mother/son conflict, unfolds in fractured time which jumps back and forth by way of a clever gimmick that allows for stimulating debates between Grace and her murdered son.

When the tale begins, Grace takes part in an experiment designed to induce "mystical feelings" by stimulating the brain with electrical energy. She sits stage left in what looks like an electric chair, wearing a helmet while speaking to an unseen man who conducts the test by regulating the intensity of the impulses. While others had religious visions, Grace saw only her dead son, who died a violent death in a terrorist attack that may have been the result of his recent spiritual conversion.

Their evenhanded debate about faith is the heart of the play. Though told with articulate dialogue, it lacks sufficient character development to be richly compelling. Dramaturgically, everything feels predictably neat and tidy in their one-dimensional metaphysical debate. Even the extenuating conflicts from the supporting characters, Grace's husband Tony (Philip Goodwin) and Tom's fiancée Ruth (K.K. Moggie) feel imposed rather than character driven.

Veteran Broadway director Joseph Hardy has pumped life into the talky evening with a careful staging that has drawn confident performances from the ensemble. Isaac's portrayal of Tom has a sympathetic intelligence that gives the young man's idealism an authenticity, as he easily buffers his mother's attacks.

The play paints Grace as a pragmatic scientist who finds it utterly impossible to accept her son's decision with rational common sense. Redgrave plays Grace as written with a rigid determination and fiercely defends her position. The debates between the two, although interesting, are overly philosophical and wordy. Unfortunately, the smart playwrights have stacked the deck against themselves by giving Redgrave few opportunities to play the emotional struggle, which could have added needed nuance to the mother/son interactions. And we never do understand Tom's sudden need for religion.

Redgrave is a powerful actor, however, and she has a beautifully realized moment near the end of the play when Grace unleashes a harrowing primal scream. Her unrelenting anguish reveals the mother's desperate torment beneath her cynical surface. If only the playwrights had provided more places for Redgrave to play Grace's humanity.

Grace opened on February 11, 2008 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street at Hudson Street. Tickets are available through TicketCentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200.

Barry Gordin and Patrick Christiano are members of the Drama Desk. Barry is an internationally renowned photographer; Patrick is artistic director of SilvaRoad Productions. They can be reached at bg6@verizon.net or theaterlife.com.

Back to Contents