Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Taking a cue from gen-x classics like Richard Linklater’s Slacker, JEANINE’S ABORTION  is populated by youths who share a penchant for thinking out loud. While not exactly slackers, they resemble their antecedents in that they value reflection and rhetoric over career ambition. In keeping with the milieu, playwright Eric Bland has chosen an open-ended structure for the piece. One vignette follows another, creating a mosaic of soliloquies and scenes, wistful ramblings and intimate beats. Only gradually does the picture emerge of a chapter closing in the lives of these young adults. Soon, the pressures of marriage, joblessness, pregnancy, and other concerns will push this tight knit group into a new phase of maturity.

The downside of the play’s meandering style is that if often seems to stagnate. Same sex couple Morgan (Moran Ann Zipf) and Emily (Emily Perkins) read the MOMA catalogue (which admittedly sounds pretty silly when read aloud) in search of an enlightening exhibit to attend, but lack the focus to actually get off the couch and go there. A simple task like deciding what to have for breakfast goes undone while Daniel (Daniel Kublick) rhapsodizes about a childhood epiphany triggered by breakfast cereal. Much of this schtick is, of course, amusing and often true to life. But a little bit goes a long way. Some variety is provided by the presence of a few more colorful characters. Sarah (Sarah Engelke), the group’s only true adventurer, writes frequently from China where she’s gone to teach and discover herself. Jeff (Jeff Lewonczyk) is a Bobcat Goldthwaite-esque drifter whose purpose in life seems to be to comically ponder the meaning of everything, including meaning itself. Because he’s “post-sexual”, Jeff makes the perfect pal for Janine (Siobhan Doherty). Alternately perky and wistful, Janine is forever seeking true love, but has found only an unwanted pregnancy.

Bland’s writing is at its best when the cleverness is tempered by conflict, as in this exchange:

JEFF: I also really respect the vagina. To me it’s like the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal. I put it high up there on my list.

JEANINE: Of places you want to visit before you die“

This comic beat is given a dark shading by its context: Jeff is driving Jeanine to an abortion clinic. In a lighter but equally potent scene, Daniel’s girlfriend Lindsay (Lindsay Carter), goes off on a driver who has cut her off in traffic, threatening to unleash the lethal fighting techniques she has learned in Bikram yoga class.

Sadly, the action only rarely rises to this level of intensity, and many intriguing aspects of the characters’ lives and aspirations remain unexplored. It’s not until near the end of the play  that we learn that Daniel is a musician. And the reasons behind Jeanine’s decision are talked about only in the abstract. Still, the cast is so likeable, and the characters so sincere, that the pleasure of spending an evening in their company is worth the price of admission. Director Hope Cartelli clearly has a nurturing touch with actors, and their willingness to be vulnerable lends a vibrant energy to the show. Like Jeanine and her friends, the gang at Piper McKenzie Productions has heart and talent to burn, but needs time to develop a stronger sense of purpose.