Horsedreams

Michael Laurence, Roxanna Hope and Matthew Schechter in "Horsedreams" A Rattlestick Playwrights Theater presentation of the play in a single act by Dael Orlandersmith. Directed by Gordon Edelstein.Desiree - Roxanna Hope Loman - Michael Laurence Mira - Dael Orlandersmith Luka - Matthew SchechterNY City was junkie paradise (and hell) within the seventies, a period that Dael Orlandersmith sights from an unconventional perspective in "Horsedreams." The dope addicts within this harrowing tale aren't any hopeless ghetto lowlifes, but high-flying Wall Street yuppies who recklessly have fun with fire simply because they think they are invincible. Although there's natural drama in watching the disintegration of the youthful husband and wife who become totally hooked on hard drugs, the possible lack of theatricality within the presentational style proves deadly. With what is basically a long aria, a red-colored-headed beauty named Desiree (Roxanna Hope) takes us with the steps of her descent from the party girl having a nose for blow to some pathetic junkie having a hot needle in her own arm. After Desiree's harsh dying, her husband, Loman (Michael Laurence), a effective corporate lawyer with both ft around the steps for success, accumulates the narrative with another endless monologue chronicling their own descent into junkie hell. Both thesps sweat it, under Gordon Edelstein's direction, to create some nuance to Desiree and Loman. But both figures are extremely shallow, so missing in self-awareness, it's nearly impossible to operate up some sympathy on their behalf. With everybody speaking in monologues, there is not any drama to talk of before the playwright introduces various other two figures: the couple's preternaturally intelligent 10-year-old boy, Luka (a superbly natural performance through the amazing Matthew Schechter), and Luka's nanny, Mina (given a sincere performance through the playwright). Luka and Mina are ready (and wise enough) to challenge Loman's delusion that he's just "using the edge off" his anxieties and it is "totally in charge" of his drug habit. But rather than letting Loman from the leash so he may finally communicate with another individual, Orlandersmith keeps him in aria mode until he works in speaking themself to dying. The raw material with this piece is strong stuff. However it cries out for any more dramatic form.Sets, Takeshi Kata costumes, Kaye Voyce lighting, Marcus Doshi seem, Ryan Rumery production stage manager, Sunneva Stapleton. Opened up November. 17, 2011. Examined November. 16. Running time: one hour, 25 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com