‘Apologia’: Stockard Channing shines

‘APOLOGIA’: Hugh Dancy & Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

APOLOGIA
Written by Alexi Kaye Campbell
Directed by Daniel Aukin
Through December 16, 2018
Roundabout at Laura Pels Theatre
Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
111 West 46th Street
(212-719-1300),www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Set in 2009 in an English countryside cottage, Kristen Miller (Stockard Channing) is awaiting the arrival of her two sons Peter and Simon, both roles played by Hugh Dancy, their girlfriends Trudi (Talene Monahon) and Claire (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and her gay best friend, Hugh (John Tillinger) to celebrate her 60-something birthday.

Kristen is a former 1960s and 1970s American activist, now living in England, believed what she was fighting for was fighting for a better world. She and Hugh were on a mission; she fought and he followed. Kristen, along the way, was divorced by her husband and he took away her two sons. In desperation, after her loss, she dove into her activism which led to her bohemian lifestyle. She has since become an art historian and has just published a book about her memoirs in which she totally neglects to mention her sons as if they never existed. And so this party from hell begins.

Of course, there is a lot of wine drinking, and a lot of blaming and a lot of recriminations and who did wrong to whom but there will be no apologies forthcoming. Kristen is still her stalwart strong-willed self and can dispense a sarcastic line to people she feels have not come up to the level she expects namely the two girlfriends Trudi, an evangelical Christian Nebraskan soon to be engaged to British-born Peter; and Claire, a soap-opera actress soon to break up with Simon due to his many psychological problems, now mostly stemming from his childhood.

Stockard Channing is a force of nature to be reckoned with. Even when the material is sub-par and not to her level of expertise, she still captivates you. There are very few stage actresses left of Ms. Channing’s caliber who can dazzle you from the first moment to last.

Hugh Dancy, who plays both Peter, the accomplished son, and Simon the unfortunate one, plays them with two distinctive personas and is quite good but here again his characters are both poorly fleshed out. John Tillinger comes off best as Kristen’s gay friend and defender with all the salty lines.

Unfortunately, director David Aukin doesn’t do much for the proceedings; he just lets the scenes ramble by themselves. An example: Beginning of Act II where Simon comes in after getting shards of glass in his hand. Kristen enters to take them out, and the stage is so dimly lit where you can hardly see the actors let alone a woman taking out shards of glass with a pair of tweezers It just seems so implausible. Did anyone forget to pay the electric bill?

In the end you are left with an unfulfilling drama, and stock characters that are not fully developed, but there is Stockard Channing. Watching her in any play is a night well spent, watching her cast her spell over an audience.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 18, 2018
Reviewed at October 17, 2018 press performance.

‘APOLOGIA’: Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘APOLOGIA’: (left to right) Hugh Dancy, Talene Monahan & Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘APOLOGIA’: Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘APOLOGIA’: Talene Monahan & Hugh Dancy. Photo: Joan Marcus