someone spectacular

By Joseph Cervelli

Domenica Feraud's heartfelt new play "someone spectacular" at the Signature Center actually starts about 7 or 8 minutes before showtime with each cast member entering without uttering a word. They each come into a room (designed by dots) which is set up for a grief therapy session. A table with a coffee pot (bad coffee as one character remarks) and a few snacks. Two of the characters smile at each other though others seem to have no feelings one way or the other. My first thought was is the first time they are meeting. But that is not the case. By the time the show starts you basically know that they are not all enamored with each other. They are anxiously awaiting for the unseen counselor Beth to arrive. Unfortunately, she does not appear (no spoiler here). Some want to start the session without her while others rather wait. Finally, they decide to start speaking to each other. 

All are very different in personalities but the angst of each is there. From Feraud's ardent and smart  writing, you can tell while there will, thankfully, not be a kumbaya moment but a togetherness of some kind. One must also give thanks to Feraud for not making this saccharine and director Tatiana Pandiani for her tender direction. 

Nelle (Alison Cimmet) has a difficult time getting over the death of her beloved sister. Her relationship with her brother-in-law is not much explored though you can come away with the feeling that it might not be great since Nelle's blunt quality does not make her endearing to the others, especially Thom (Damian Young) who lost his wife. Some of the others become annoyed with Thom for being almost surgically attached to his phone taking what he states are important phone calls when he should be discussing matters on hand. 

The youngest in the group is the jittery Jude (Delia Cunningham) who lost her baby during pregnancy. Nelle especially wonders why is she at this meeting when this occurred 18 months ago. The others lost their loved ones about 4 months or so ago. Nelle is the type not to let things just pass but needs to get to the bottom of this. Evelyn lost her mom whom she never had a good relationship with and wants to try to understand why her mother was far from a good one. She describes her growing up in a house that was like the mother/daughter in "Grey Gardens." Ana Cruz Kayne portrays Lily the youngest most troubled of the group. Angry and caustic, she feels so very lost without her mother. Almost blaming her mother for her now own issues of not wanting to leave the house and not changing her clothes. Julian (Shakur Tolliver) enters with headphones and seems oblivious to what is going on. Yet, he, too, has a difficult time with the death of his aunt who was more like a mother to him. 

All of the performances are first rate and have an in-depth understanding of the characters they are portraying. What is so important is that the characters intermingle with each other expertly and none suddenly become more likable or the opposite. They are all individuals and must deal with their grief in different ways that work best for them. 

There is a bit of a mystery here with a beeping sound that Nelle first hears and then as the play proceeds so do the others along with the audience. I won't go further but it becomes clearer what it might be.

The playwright dedicates this play to her mother Nathalie Feraud-Salame of which there is a lovely photo and short paragraph about her life. Just from that it is clear that the playwright has learned a lot about grief and dealing with loss. On that note, when some of the characters speak about how their loss is more difficult than others Thom points out, "Loss is loss." How very true..

PHOTOS: JULIANA CERVANTES

Tickets are available at the Pershing Square Signature Center 480 West 42nd Street. As of this writing, the play runs through August 31.