By Martin F. Kohn, guest critic
One reason why Nicky Silver might call a play "Raised in Captivity" may be that "Man's Search for Meaning" was already taken (by the late Viktor Frankl) and, besides, who would go see a play called "Man's Search for Meaning"? Or woman's?
Anyway, that's what Silver's seriocomic play is about, and it's a pretty good title, conjuring images of people living their lives behind bars, at least figuratively, maybe getting a little wild.
Demetri Vacratsis' Breathe Art Theatre Project staging at the Furniture Factory makes the metaphoric corporeal with a stage-wide, ceiling-high wire screen between cast and audience.
The actors – Morgan Chard, Eric Maher, Joel Mitchell, Kelly Komlen and Jonathan Davidson – credibly delineate characters who are captives of their own limitations. Each is more confused and unhappy than the next, although if it came to a vote the honors would go to Hilary (Komlen), a psychologist who is so disturbed that she blinds herself.
The most normal character (we're grading on a curve here) may be the convict (Davidson) serving life for murder with whom protagonist Sebastian (Maher) has been corresponding for years. They've never met.
Sebastian's other relationships are even less tangible. He hasn't had sex for 11 years, not since his lover died of AIDS; he hasn't had work – he's a writer – for a year, and hasn't seen his sister, Bernadette (Chard in the standout performance), in ages. When we first meet Bernadette she is singing the weepiest and worst version ever heard of "This Could Be the Start of Something Big." It is their mother's funeral, which will reunite the siblings.
And don't forget Bernadette's husband, Kip (Mitchell), the dentist who hates teeth.
They all slog their way through dialogue so tedious that one wonders on which side of the wire screen the captives really are.
REVIEW:
'Raised in Captivity'
Breathe Art Theatre Project at The Furniture Factory, 4126 3rd St., Detroit. Friday-Sunday through Dec. 7. Tickets: $20. For information: 248-982-4121 or http://www.breathearttheatre.com
