| October 10, 2002 BY ANDREW HENKES NYTheatre.Com Amidst the rush and mania of life in New York City, do we ever stick around long enough to connect with the people in our lives? 3 O’Clock in Brooklyn, a fun, new play by Israela Margalit at the Access Theater in Tribeca, ponders this element of city life along with many others. The result is an energized, clever play that will delight you in spite of a slight overabundance of clichés. The play’s concept is simple: seven people have all planned to meet one another at 3:00 one afternoon at an otherwise empty coffee shop in Brooklyn. Their impatience and nervousness causes them to repeatedly miss one another, as they run off to buy a newspaper, use the bathroom, look around outside, get some fresh air, etc. In the end, confrontations occur, new relationships begin to form, and the appointments take place. Though they miss their appointments the first few times, the characters have Marty to talk to, the delightful Russian bartender who maintains an upbeat, Old World innocence against their cynicism and anxieties. Jordan Charney plays Marty with charm and an inspired musicality, allowing us to fall for him as Caroline does. Louisa Flaningam, as Caroline, does an excellent job portraying this sweet, motherly woman from another era who is lost in the world of modern love. To her, marriage was supposed to be forever. Sharply contrasting with her are Edgar (Jesse Doran) and Bridget (Kim Zimmer). Doran delivers Edgar's caustic opinions on love, life and women with disturbing sincerity. Zimmer’s charged performance as the neurotic and frenetic Bridget is brilliant and multi-layered. She captures the shallowness of this spurned woman, and adds a level of emotion underneath that brings to life a rather caricatured role. Jeremy Webb gives a very funny performance as Jonathon, a misogynistic gay man relating his disgust about the results of his one attempt at being with a woman. Finally, Marla (Erica Piccininni), is a young idealistic woman waiting for her perfect boyfriend. Piccininni’s performance is strong in showing the passion behind Marla's opinions, but lacks some of the depth that the other characters have (though this may be partly due to the script). The action takes place on a well-planned set designed by Maruti Evans. It's a cute little bar with a beautiful wood finish and a big gray jukebox in the corner. The generous windows around the door in the back of the set let us see the characters before they enter, giving us some quick hints about them. The timing of the entrances and exits is strong, being an essential part of the humor. The real focus of the play is ideas --- the characters are vessels for various philosophies and ideas about life and love that are filtered through their experiences. Debates arise about politics (liberal vs. conservative), gender (men vs. women), feminism across generations, music, and literature. Interestingly, the ideas make less of an impact than the witty (and sometimes surprising) arguments themselves: Margalit is less successful in swaying the audience one way or the other than in revealing character and relationships through the lively dialogue. There is a subtle sweetness to the undercurrent of attraction between Marty and Caroline; their observation of Marla’s naïve love for her boyfriend says more about love than any of the play's more intellectual exchanges. It’s touches such as this that make 3 O'Clock in Brooklyn a play worth seeing. |