‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Tom Sturridge. Photo: RIchard Hubert Smith

SEA WALL/A LIFE
Written by Simon Stephens & Nick Payne
Directed by Carrie Cracknell
Through September 29, 2019
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855-801-5876), www.SeaWallALife.com

By David NouNou

‘Tis the season when a lot of older Broadway shows have closed (or are about to) and currently lots of theaters are vacant. So, what do you do when you have empty houses? Fill them up with as many Off-Broadway or regional theater two- or three-character shows as you can. If they had a modicum of success somewhere else, now is the time to bring them to Broadway. They are comprised of minimal sets, costumes or changes so the move would not be that expensive to transfer. Sea Wall/A Life is one such example. Having recently closed from a successful run at a smaller venue, the Public Theatre, it was only a matter of time for the show to move, especially since the original stars, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, were available.

Sea Wall/A Life is not so much a two-character play as two-one act monologues. They are connected by the thread of life and death. The first being Sea Wall written by Simon Stephens who gave us the masterpiece The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Here Tom Sturridge plays Alex, a man recalling his life and love of his wife Helen, daughter Lucy, and stalwart father-in-law who now lives in France. The incidents are recalled vividly and intensely, but the recollections are done as unfinished sentences. Every so often, Alex starts remembering an event that took place with a member of the family, gives us a great visual journey but doesn’t complete the story, and goes off on a tangent about another story. After a while this becomes very frustrating because as he gets to the emotional section of the incident, the gears are shifted and we are left stranded. You get the full gist of what’s going on (no spoilers by me), but you have to fill in the gaps.

A Life is written by Nick Payne who gave us such recent works as Constellations at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet at Roundabout’s Laura Pels, both starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Here, Mr. Gyllenhaal is Abe, a music producer who is caught between the illness of his father and the impending birth of his daughter. Abe can deal with his father’s illness and his obligations to him, but is not prepared for the role of impending fatherhood. He can do son, but he can’t do father; that was his father’s job. Again everything is beautifully narrated but we are dealing with dual narratives.  Abe shifts his narrative between his father’s dilemmas and the birth of his daughter; we are again taken to a certain part of the story and midway shifts to the other story, zig zags back and forth and we have to differentiate.

Due to the intense content of both monologues, the evening is made palatable due to the expert performances of its two stars. Mr. Sturridge as Alex breaks the heart with his rendition of his tale and the sensitivity he emotes. He is this fragile figure that is crumbling before our eyes by the overwhelming grief of his tale.

Mr. Gyllenhaal is one of the most unique actors that Broadway audiences get the pleasure to see every couple of years. He is a huge international movie star, and such a person does not come to Broadway often, but Mr. Gyllenhaal is the exception to that rule. Every appearance becomes a must-see event because he gives so much of himself to the roles. You can see the love and respect he has for the medium and it is always a delight watching him create a new role.

Although as a show Sea Wall/A Life might not be an uplifting theatrical experience, the experience is watching two young talented actors. Mr. Gyllenhaal and Mr. Sturridge, both giving emotionally charged performances.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published August 14, 2019
Reviewed at August 13, 2019 press performance.

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal (left) & Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal (left) & Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

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CELESTIAL BODIES: Jake Gyllenhaal & Ruth Wilson in ‘Constellations.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

CONSTELLATIONS
Written by Nick Payne
Directed by Michael Longhurst
Through March 15, 2015
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
(212-239-6200), www.constellationsbroadway.com

By David NouNou

Set in the Multiverse, in the past, present and future, Constellations is one of those plays you are either going to get into right away or be drifting throughout its 70-minute length. Dealing with parallel universes, I’m sure I was drifting there in some of those universes. Not having taken any physics courses may have hindered my perceptions. Having the same elements as Groundhog Day, the repetition of the same events of the same day recurring over and over again until you get it right, Constellations isn’t about getting it right but repeating the same events at different times in different universes with different results in each instance.

Starting with Roland (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Marianne (Ruth Wilson) meeting at a barbeque, this same meeting plays out in five different ways. He is a beekeeper and she is a student in theoretical universe cosmology. In each instance, there is the initial meeting, and pending in which universe each has a follow-up scene but not in the order of the initial meetings. The trick here is matching up the scenes with the characters. Naturally, each scene has a different outcome.

What sustains the interest here is the perfect chemistry that Mr. Gyllenhaal and Ms. Wilson possess. He is laid back and she is hyper, but they do build an odd couple sadness. They both convey their character changes perfectly, whether by an inflection, facial expression or body movement and they are in perfect sync with each other’s movements. There are no fully realized scenes but the longer ones are compelling and engaging. The longer scenes seem to bring you back to reality until the next tangent breaks up the proceedings, and then you’re hurled out into the other universe.

Nick Payne, the playwright, and director Michael Longhurst have worked with Mr. Gyllenhaal before In Mr. Payne’s If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre in 2012, so they do know each other’s patterns and techniques. Mr. Longhurst keeps things moving at a rapid pace in part due to Nick Curran’s light changes indicating different moments.

Constellations has a clever premise, the ever-charismatic, talented, always competent and gorgeous Jake Gyllenhaal, and making her New York stage debut, a charming Ruth Wilson. This past Sunday, she won the Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Drama against very stiff competition in Showtime’s “The Affair.” Most New Yorkers are unfamiliar with her work, but she is a very interesting actress to watch.

There is a lot to admire in Constellations, especially if you get into it in the right universe, at the right time, and in the right frame of mind.

OSCAR NOMINEE ON BROADWAY: Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Constellations.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

STARRY MESSENGERS: Jake Gyllenhaal dates physicist Ruth Wilson in the U.K. import ‘Constellations.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 15, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on January 14, 2015

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