(Photo Credit: Chris Bentley)
Five psychiatric patients’ group therapy sessions are
threatened when a corporation acquires the hospital it’s
held at in this searing topical drama.
“Is there a better way to say she’s been in the
nuthouse?” That is a helpful remark offered by a
psychiatric patient during a group therapy session in aid
of another member in playwright Rita Lewis’ searing
topical drama, Rawshock. A supportive female
psychiatrist oversees “The Inside/Outside Club,” comprised
of five patients who meet up; some are long-term
residents of a facility, and others are outpatients.
Ms. Lewis’ articulate characters are a cross-section of
contemporary Americans, each delineated through
just enough biographical details; all are relatable and
mostly in the therapy room where traumas are
recounted, solutions are offered, fights are fought, and
camaraderie exists. The play, presented by the Manhattan
Repertory Theatre, is structured as short scenes
mostly in the therapy room where traumas are
recounted, solutions are offered, fights are fought, and
camaraderie exists.“That took guts, I don’t think I could
ever let it out like that, I just can’t.”
Conflict is established during the terse opening scene as
the group’s psychiatrist confronts the male new head of
psychiatry who has been installed by the corporation that
recently bought the hospital. He is going to evaluate
operations and make recommendations, prompting anxiety
as another nearby corporately acquired hospital has been
closed. Of course, this new head of psychiatry will
become pivotal in threatening the existence of “The
Inside/Outside Club.”
Rawshock’s slice of life tales of the mentally ill colliding
with present day corporate greed becomes a compelling
Ibsenesque morality clash due to Lewis’ exquisite
command of dramatic writing. The plot is quickly set in
motion, exposition is imparted through precise and
flavorful dialogue, and the satisfying realistic conclusion
is wistfully ambivalent. Rawshock is a well-made play
pungently dramatizing current social issues.
Director Ken Wolf’s exhilarating physical staging is
marked by rapid pacing with fiercely choreographed
sequences of physical violence and emotional outbursts.
The actions vividly occur on the stage simply set with
full-length beige curtains and a few key furnishings. Mr.
Wolf’s straightforward lighting and design also contribute
to the overall presentational effect of experiencing a Rod
Serling-type landmark 1950’s Golden Age of Television
live drama, as directed by the likes of Delbert Mann,
Sidney Lumet and Arthur Penn. That entrancing
dimension is enforced by the supreme cast Wolf has
assembled and guided. For 80 minutes, each actor offers
and sustains fearless characterizations, even when
silently in the background.
The authoritative, yet approachable Camber Carpenter is
serene as the heroic therapist with her appealing,
professional speech pattern and noble bearing. Often
banging a cane and bellowing, Theresa Della Valle recalls
Thelma Ritter and Eileen Heckert’s gutsiness with her
heartbreaking portrayal of an upper class, former “bad
girl” who is now an now aged long-term resident. Ms.
Della Valle is shattering, delivering a reminiscence of
cutting up a mink coat belonging to one her parents’
snooty, socialite friends. Dressed all in black with flowing
black hair, the thin, animated and alluring Jennifer Pierro
is haunting as a disturbed artist off her meds; she is
riveting enacting several major breakdowns.
Chelsea Clark conveys tremendous pathos as a troubled
young woman on the verge of a new start in life,
attempting to obtain an office job. A grand highlight of
Ms. Clark’s winning performance is a simulated job
interview where clad in under-class finery, she gleefully
engages in hilarious, swift corporate double talk while
smoothly extricating herself out of questionable
background minefields. Her interviewer is the new head
of psychiatry who is supposedly sympathetically
observing the group; he is played with premier character
actor verve by the august David Silberger. Mr. Silberger’s
soothing cadences and mature everyman persona allow
him to effortlessly veer from benevolence to treachery.
While his lustrous black ponytail sways as he swaggers
around in jeans, Nathan Cusson is ferocious as a
combative hothead. Mr. Cusson also conveys this complex
character’s tenderness with his affective performance as
he steps up to help the group. The blond and achingly
voiced Christian Libonati beautifully combines intensity
and weariness as a forlorn substance-addicted male
prostitute; his anguished turn inspires memories of Brad
Dourif in One Flew Over the Cuckoos’ Nest. Mr. Libonati
and Cusson have some galvanizing verbal and physical
interactions together.
Rawshock intelligently explores its painful subject matter
with blazing theatricality.
Rawshock (through November 3, 2024)
Manhattan Repertory Theatre
Chain Theatre, 312 West 36 th Street, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.manhattanrep.com
Running time: 80 minutes with no intermission
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