{"id":8094,"date":"2013-10-17T10:26:45","date_gmt":"2013-10-17T17:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=8094"},"modified":"2013-10-17T13:04:51","modified_gmt":"2013-10-17T20:04:51","slug":"i-and-you-at-mtc-needs-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/i-and-you-at-mtc-needs-work\/","title":{"rendered":"I and You at MTC needs work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kedar\u00a0[rating:2] (2\/5 stars)\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jessica Lynn Carroll (Caroline) and Devion McArthur (Anthony) in the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of I and You<\/em> by Lauren Gunderson, running now through November 3 at Marin Theatre Company . Photo by Ed Smith<\/span><\/p>\n

I AND YOU<\/em><\/strong>: Drama. By Lauren Gunderson. D<\/strong>irected by <\/strong>Sarah Rasmussen. Marin Theatre Company, <\/strong>397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941. (415) 388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>October 10 \u2013 November 3, 2013<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I and You<\/em> <\/strong>at\u00a0 MTC\u00a0 needs work.<\/p>\n

The adage \u201cthere\u2019s trouble in River City\u201d did come to mind when Artistic Director \u00a0Jasson Minadakis \u00a0informed the audience before the show began that this production is first of four \u201crolling world premieres\u201d of \u00a0I and You<\/em> and intimated that there would be changes made. Also in a local newspaper fluff piece interview of the author she admitted that during rehearsal, at the suggestion of the cast, she excised significant blocks of dialog. It might be possible that those cut are the reason there is an abrupt change in the tenor of the play that seems artificial.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gunderson has received accolades for her other plays, three of which are playing locally, and the dialog in I and You <\/em>attests that those accolades are warranted. <\/em>However she must share some of that credit with Walt Whitman\u2019s poetry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a two character play with disparate teenagers thrown together in a class project to deconstruct Whitman\u2019s poetic autobiographical \u201cLeaves of Grass\u201d by discussing his meaning of the pronouns \u201cI\u201d and \u201cYou.\u201d It is a very blatant ploy by Gunderson to give universality to the personal relationship evolving between the protagonists. \u00a0Henri Bergson\u2019s concept of relative time is suggested since their project is due the next morning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those two are chronically ill semi-recluse Caroline (Jessica Lynn Carroll) and talented basketball player Anthony (Devion McArthur). The author adroitly introduces the troubled background of the pair with believable dialog as the relationship changes from antagonistic to empathy ending with understanding in a cataclysmic ending.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whereas Caroline who is white is immersed in her stuffed turtle doll, Elvis Presley movies and photography, African-American Anthony is a saxophonist enamored with John Coltrane and Walt Whitman. \u00a0Anthony\u2019s unexpected arrival in Caroline\u2019s attic bedroom is met with hostility but his patience gradually turns Caroline\u2019s taciturn nature into an agreeable partner adding depth to their assigned project. Before that stage is reached there are the expected and unexpected serious bumps on the road to understanding. A couple of those bumps are very dramatically directed by Sarah Rasmussen but her chore is difficult because the storyline lacks cohesion.\u00a0 This may change on the play\u2019s journey through three more \u201crolling world premieres.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jessica Lynn Carroll gives a believably fine performance changing from a frightened unlikeable teenager to a compliant partner as she becomes engrossed in Whitman\u2019s poetry and Anthony\u2019s subtle persistence. \u00a0\u00a0Devion McArthur, who was imported from the New York theatrical scene, is new to Marin Theatre Company but one would hope it will not be his last visit to the Bay Area.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Locher\u2019s magnificent set of Caroline\u2019s attic bedroom complete with the trappings expected of a teenager is a beauty but may be superfluous overkill for this problematic 80 minute play that may be better served with a more moody ambiance to accentuate the surprise ending.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kedar K. Adour, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kedar\u00a0[rating:2] (2\/5 stars)\u00a0 Jessica Lynn Carroll (Caroline) and Devion McArthur (Anthony) in the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of I and You by Lauren Gunderson, running now through…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-kedar-k-adour"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"