The Lyons.
Many families are warm, forgiving, gentle, and supportive of one another.
The Lyons are none of these things.
When
the family patriarch lies on deaths door the gathering of wife and
children are anything but comforting in the older man’s last moments.
The longstanding battle between husband (Richard Mueller) and wife (Andrea MacDonald)
has boiled over and he is done with being polite. Ben’s dropping F
bombs left and right, he’s abrasive, he’s upset, and he’s very resentful
toward the family he’s helped to create. And Rita’s basking in the glow
of that resentment, she’s bathing in his hate as she promises to
redecorate the living room once he’s gone and persistently feigns to
misunderstand every warm memory the patriarch tries to share. The
wordplay between the two is as hilarious as it is cruel.
And
that right there is what you’re going to find at the The Lyons;
wordplay that’s savage, cruel, hilarious, and maybe a little sadistic. I
know I laughed out loud- I know that it was feeding a little dark part
of my own self, holding a mirror to some of the shadows in my own family
life and giving me a certain degree of ventilation and schadenfreude. I
admit there’s a little sadistic part of me that found it a pure joy to
laugh at all the horrible things these people said to one another. I’m
not ashamed to admit that I virtually guffawed at various points. I had
to laugh or I would cry, and there’s plenty to laugh about when you
realize that these people most likely deserve one another. None of them
are put upon by one another, their suffering is often self-inflicted,
and each one of them have fallen into a pattern of abuse and
codependency.
Daughter
Lisa shows up with an excuse for being late, blaming the traffic and a
lack of parking that her family is quick to demolish. She immediately
starts in with her own melodrama, making semi-veiled references to her
“sponsor”, her youngest being with a sitter while the oldest is spending
time with the father, and we are quick to find out that she
systematically attempts to make every struggle and pain into something
she can own, protect, and cater in an attempt to gather what she sees as
sympathy or attention. Actress Penelope Morgan is fantastic and her
comic timing is spot on when she’s taking offense at a perceived slight
or reacting to the dramatic revelation of her father’s impending death.
Curtis
arrives and sparks immediately fly between the siblings, showing a
rivalry that’s been going on for their entire lives. More than that,
Curtis is homosexual, much to the displeasure of his dying father. And
where Lisa is the poor victim, Curtis lives his life as anything but-
he’s snarky, arrogant, dismissive, and maybe even a little cruel with
his personal interactions. And all of that is played to the hilt by
Lucas Tovey. He’s absolutely brilliant in the role and makes the
deliciously unpleasant Curtis into a mesmerizing character you can’t
help but enjoy watching as he copes with both personal and family drama.
Both
children are the product of their parents never ending feud, both
embittered and morally questionable brats with few redeeming qualities.
Their mutual sniping is virtually encouraged by the parents, and all
four snipe at one another throughout the first act with the occasional
interruption from a nurse (Marjorie Lowery) who goes nameless throughout
much of the play. Don’t be afraid to laugh because the situation seems
so bleak. These reprehensible creatures deserve every chuckle you can
muster up.
The second
act follows Curtis as he continues to cope with the impending loss of
his father and certain revelations that have left him too exposed for
comfort. He works through several of these issues with his real estate
agent, Brian(David Naar). Maybe we start to see a gentler side to Curtis, or
maybe this is just more manipulation and cruelty, or maybe something
between- I’m not going to say much more beyond the fact that the scene
is as powerful as it is comedic.
When
the family eventually reunites again, the gloves come off and the fur
starts to fly. Watch yourself, because emotional blood is poured out on
the stage and all participants gleefully stomp on the gory remains and
swim through all that soup for the smallest opportunity to stick another
dagger in. If you’ve never had dealings with these kinds of people, you
are blessed and you’ll be absolutely shocked into outrageous laughter.
If you’re familiar with these people, I sympathize and highly recommend
laughing at these people who have so negatively affected our own lives.
The
Lyons plays at the new Paper Wing Fremont on Fridays and Saturdays,
from 8 pm to 10. The show closes on 4/19/14, so take advantage of the
opportunity while it lasts and support the local arts.
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