| My review of JUNK: New Broadway play about 1980s Wall Street fraud opens tonight at Lincoln Center | |
| Posted by: jesse21 04:17 am EDT 11/02/17 | |
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| - The "junk" in Ayad Akhtar's new play Junk refers to junk bonds, those high-risk, high-yield securities that caused such havoc in the financial markets during the 1980s. Opening tonight on Broadway in a production from Lincoln Center Theater, Junk plays out like a standard-issue, chronological docudrama about various piranhas vying for an unfriendly takeover of a Pennsylvania steel company. Its many characters are cliches cut out of cardboard and the play itself feels bloodless. That's surprising because Mr. Akhtar's big hit, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Disgraced, was so visceral in its combative depiction of race, religion and cultural differences that it practically pulled you out of your seat. Not this time around. Junk is more akin to a long article in the New Yorker. There are no good guys in Junk. Well, maybe Thomas Everson, Jr. (Rick Holmes), the scion running the family steel business who says he is fighting off an assortment of Wall Street sharks to preserve jobs and the community. But wait, he's been cooking the books to manipulate the stock. In comes chief villain Robert Merkin (Steven Pasquale) who seems to be based on the "Junk Bond King" Michael Milken. He outsmarts all rivals, especially the old guard, when it comes to a creative takeover. The play is mainly a conflict between the traditional way of doing business versus the upstarts who are out to break unspoken codes of conduct, even if their actions are criminal. That storyline, which we've all seen or read about before, is not as interesting as the playwright's preoccupation with race and ethnicity in telling this saga. In Disgraced, the conflict was between a Muslim, a Wasp, an African-American and a Jew. Here, there is much dialogue regarding anti-Semitism with anti-Hispanic and other ethnic elements thrown in for good measure. Interesting that the three female characters, all money grabbers by the way, are cast with actresses who are Caucasian (Mrs. Merkin), Asian (a reporter who sells out) and a black (a spy planted in the steel company). Other than commendable diversified casting, I am not sure if any other point is being made here other than greed cuts across all races and sexes. The scenery by John Lee Beatty consists of rectangular boxes outlined-in-lights on two levels. The action then spills out of one or more of these units, often with visual projections. The design is stark, cold and something we've seen before which is totally appropriate for this play. Under Doug Hughes matter-of-fact direction, the large cast of 23 performs with professional polish if not particular distinction. The best of them is Michael Siberry as the old-school gent who fights the battle with Robert Merkin to the bitter end. Steven Pasquale's Merkin brims with the poise, affability, good looks and smarts that make his character such a success. Yet I didn't feel the cutthroat aspect that drove his personality. The people behind Junk no doubt think their play is especially pertinent today with Donald Trump rescinding restrictions on financial institutions put in place as consumer protection by the Obama administration after the 2008 crisis. And, if you are searching for greater resonance within this play, you may conclude that the type of free-wheeling capitalism depicted defines part of the American character that worships money. But we already know all of that and Junk doesn't' offer anything profound we haven't heard before. Its most interesting scene is the final one in which Robert Merkin outlines his scheme that in twenty years would upend the housing mortgage markets. There have been much better plays and movies on this very subject, particularly Caryl Churchill's Serious Money from 1987. And, while Junk is not as bad as the Broadway production of its cousin Enron. it is still a blah presentation of a hot topic. ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ - Jesse SIDEBAR: JUNK opens Thursday, November 2, 2017, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, Broadway at 66th Street, New York City. Running time: 2 hours, 20 min, including a 15-minute intermission. Act One: 55 minutes. Act Two: 70 minutes. Limited engagement. Tickets currently on sale through January 7, 2018. Link to website. - |
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