Lingua Franca
Charlotte Randle and Chris New in Lingua Franca. Photo by Sara Krulwich.
BOTTOM LINE: Personable and vivacious acting from the ensemble in this character driven, plot skimpy play.
Set in a post World War II language school, Peter Nichols' newest play Lingua Franca appropriately and somewhat unfortunately often feels like a scholastic exercise in and of itself. The Brits Off-Broadway series at 59E59 Theatres hosts London's Cherub Theater Company for the seriodrama based on the workplace interactions of a group of language teachers in Florence. Lingua Franca spends too much time dipping it's quill into narrow inkwells of thought and not enough time truly fleshing out any of them. So much energy is spent showing connections between the language school staff, a feud here, a prejudice here, an attraction there, and very few of the suggestively active lines ever come to a satisfying climax.
Despite the shortcomings of this plot-shy play, Lingua Franca is remarkably well-acted. One of my favorite moments as an audience member of any theater piece, is having that little jolt of reality where you realize that you were so well sold on an actor's portrayal, that you forgot that you were watching an actor at all, and this spectacularly honest ensemble cast delivered that jolt to me several times over the course of the show. Spotlighting one actor's performance is near impossible, every time I think of how convincing one performance was, I recall the next, and so on and so on. Chris New is perhaps the easiest place to start, as his portrayal of newcomer Steven Flowers is what drives the play forward and keeps the audience engaged. New infuses his character with a nice blend of youthful enthusiasm and angry-young-man syndrome and it's difficult not to want to watch him when he's on stage.
Charlotte Randle is another standout as sweet and slightly creepy Peggy Carmichael and the audience is never sure whether to pity her for her loneliness, or fear for the safety of those she fancies.
Another actor worth noting is Ian Gelder, who plays the seasoned and celibate language professor Jestin Overton with a sincerity that feels so truthful I felt as if I knew him personally by the time I left the theatre.
The production itself is engaging. In addition to the various interactions between the staff, there are several monologues which, simply and finely directed by Michael Gieleta, act as a base to remind us of not only the setting, but also the personality of each of the players in this period water cooler drama. Although flawed, Lingua Franca speeds by and is worth the watch for the delightful cast.
(Lingua Franca plays at 59E59 Theater, 59 East 59th Street, through November 28, 2010. Performances are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7PM, Thursdays and Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2PM and 8PM and Sundays at 3PM and 7PM. Tickets are $60 and are available at 59e59.org or by calling Ticket Central at 212.279.4200. For more show info visit britsoffbroadway.com.)