This Broadway play stars Paul Rudd (Steve), Michael Shannon (Sam), Kate Arrington (Sara), and Ed Asner (Karl). The play takes place in two identical, furnished rental condos next door to one another on the Florida shore. Going into this, I had no idea what the show was about except that it was going to be a dark comedy. And dark it was.
The play basically talks about how a married couple Sara and Steve move from Minnesota to Florida in pursuit of a religious hotel investment. They are super religious, but Steve particularly attributes everything good in his life to God in how He always has a plan for him and his wife Sara. They meet Karl, a bug exterminator, and Sam, a NASA scientist. As destinies collide, we learn much about how eclectic each character is and how God’s plan is enacted for each of the characters.
There were two things about this play that I particularly liked a lot. The first is that that there was a lot of acting simultaneously. Basically there would be 2 scenes that would be acted out at the same time that represents two different locations. The second is there were some scenes where the actors would act their parts forward then backwards. It was pretty interesting to see them move backwards yet say their parts forward. I thought it was pretty clever on how they used that to depict the story.
For my first play that I have ever seen in my life, it was an absolutely delight. There were a lot of references to religion, so if you are heavily opiniated, this may not be your cup of tea. However, if you are open minded and love watching Paul Rudd, this was simply awesome. Ed Asner, Kate Arrington, and Michael Shannon also delivered amazing performances too.
The play is in limited engagement and ends January 6th, 2013.
“Have faith and a backup plan.”
