Review: "The Opposite of Love"
(Photo": Jeremy Varner)
OnStage Blog Review
(Full Disclosure: Ashley Griffin is also a writer for OnStage Blog)
“The Opposite of Love,” the newest offering from writer Ashley Griffin (“Trial”) produced by New York Rep (“Church and State”) is, quite simply, extraordinary. For anyone asking where the great new American plays are, look no further than off-Broadway’s Royal Family Theater.
“The Opposite of Love” has accurately been described as “If ‘Pretty Woman’ was a ‘Black Mirror’ episode sans tech.” The story is simple: trust fund baby Eloise has experienced long term sexual abuse with the one line not crossed being actual intercourse. Desperately desirous of a loving, intimate romantic relationship she has instead found herself adrift in a dating culture that feels more like a “sexual audition scene” than a real search for connection. Feeling she needs to “get over” herself and join the “real world” she hires Will, a somewhat down on his luck male prostitute, to take her virginity. Their initial encounter doesn’t go well but, realizing that Eloise is a potential cash cow, Will suggests that they meet weekly and just…talk. The play follows them over the course of several encounters and becomes a complex exploration of intimacy in our culture. Will and Eloise end up being two sides of the same coin in surprising ways and wherever you think the play is going… you’re wrong.
Such a story could be salacious, going for sex appeal or shock value. But it’s not.
What it is, is pure truth.
Not “fact based” truth, but the kind of “truth disguised as illusion” that reverberates in the center of all of us. This is a play that in some way, shape or form will make you feel seen.
Is it sexy? Absolutely – but in the kind of way that cuts to the core of what we all secretly long for through sex. Is it shocking? Certainly – but in a way that cuts to the core of our deepest fears. There is a moment of intimacy that occurs about midway through the piece (and another later on) that in another show, or in the wrong hands could have been crass, graphic and completely unnecessary. In the hands of this production they are the purest moments of care and gentleness I’ve ever seen onstage. Major props must be given to intimacy director Crista Marie Jackson who was recently profiled in the New York Times for her work on “Teeth.” That show showcased her cleverness and ingenuity, “Opposite…” showcases her elegance and grace. But such moments are also beautifully executed by the performers, and are a perfect example of why every dramatic actor should study dance… Ashley Griffin (writer Griffin also plays Eloise) and Danny Gardner (Will)’s dance backgrounds serve them well here without ever broadcasting their presence. The actors’ connection is palpable and the work they’re doing is tremendously brave.
Griffin is doing something of a magic trick with Eloise… there are a million and one facets to the character she’s created… she is at times funny, ethereal, powerful, sexy, innocent, wise, traumatized, wicked and utterly vulnerable. One moment she is a Fantasy Girl, the next she rips the rug out from under you and makes you realize how wrong your objectification of her is. Ultimately, for much of the play she is like a scared animal you desperately want to discover how to trust and love. When she does, the effect is dazzling. But then, at the eleventh hour, she pulls out a wild card that leaves you reeling, and yet, when you go back and think through all that has happened, you realize is horrifyingly inevitable.
Gardner’s Will is a bit more straightforward. We know the game he’s playing but his vulnerability still seeps through with brutal honesty. Will isn’t THAT good of an actor. Gardner definitely is. Any potential stumbling blocks for the character are surmounted with ease and we very much care about Will even when we (and he) aren’t always totally sure of his motivations or end game.
What is remarkable about “Opposite…” is the way it makes us feel like we are players on this journey with Eloise and Will. It draws you in in such a beautiful way that we feel at the center of the story along with the characters onstage. The piece allows us to feel vulnerable, to feel cared for, to feel our deepest insecurities and fears in a safe, brilliantly crafted space. Writer Ashley Griffin is a trustworthy captain and she leads us through an emotional journey that feels long overdue in the NY theater scene.
Director Rachel Klein crafts the piece with intelligence and great sensitivity. She is doing wonders with an intimate space and minimal design elements. It is quite remarkable what she is able to create with a bare bones set and I’ve never seen a standard “living room” play staged with such creativity. She has guided nuanced performances with complex arcs and it’s a wonder she was able to keep the plates spinning so elegantly on all the layers that are always going on at any given time. When you get down to it, “Opposite…” is two performers in a living room for an hour and a half, and every moment is so captivating that we not only can’t look away, but keep wanting to lean further and further in. Klein is mainly known for experimental new musicals… she shows here that she’s just as deft with dramatic plays (which, at the end of the day, might be even more difficult to pull off.)
Griffin is well established as a fantastic actress who can disappear into a divergent range of roles. She has played everything from a gender fluid Hamlet (she is the first person in history to be nominated for a major award for both playing and directing “Hamlet” for a theatrical production), to musical theater leading ladies, and everything in between and she does not disappoint here. Her work is so organic and honest it’s hard to believe it won’t, in fact, be Eloise who walks out of the stage door after the performance - something especially remarkable given that the character keeps slipping through our fingers every time we think we have a grasp on her, as well as how divergent elements of Eloise are from what we’ve seen from Griffin in the past. There are times when Eloise is at such a heartbreakingly exposed, honest and raw place it’s almost as if you’re watching a soul commit suicide. And then there is a section of the show (I wish I could divulge more) when you deeply, desperately do NOT want to be on Eloise’s side… and yet… somehow, Griffin manages to keep you there. We never see the actress working, only a living, breathing human being.
Gardner, conversely, is primarily known for his work as Broadway’s go to musical theater tapper, having appeared in “Dames at Sea”, “Flying Over Sunset”, and others. This is the first time I’m aware that he’s played a leading, dramatic role in NYC and I hope the theater world takes notice. Will is a part few actors could play well, and the intricacies of Gardner’s work are stunning. Gardner is very easy on the eyes (this is a rare role where being a certain kind of “attractive” and “masculine” are true requirements for the story to function the way it does,) but it is far from a role that any handsome guy could play. While Eloise always remains a bit of an ethereal creature with layers and qualities appearing and disappearing in an instant (seriously, how did Griffin manage to make such a character so real and fully formed?) Will is a gradual pealing back of “performance” to reveal the human being underneath. Yes, Gardner is attractive, but it’s as if the actor couldn’t care less and that is a rare quality. He gives us the traumatized little boy, the adolescent full of shame, the man who desperately wants to be the real kind of “good”, the working class “bro”, and the powerful “object” who has long been reduced to his external characteristics and has convinced himself that that’s a fabulous thing. It frustrates me that actors are so often “put in a box”. It’s clear that Gardner’s “box” – while certainly showcasing his wonderful musical theater skills, has held him back from showing his full range and potential. We would all be fortunate if he were given more roles like this (and if more roles like Will and Eloise were written in the first place.)
Together, Gardner and Griffin are dynamite. Their chemistry is off the charts and they are so in tune with each other you think they might be able to read each other’s minds. PLEASE – To the powers that be: Put Them In More Things Together! It is worth noting the incredible emotional and (not often found in “let’s sit and talk” dramas) vocal and physical work they’re doing both individually and together. This is a study in how actors can wear their bodies like a costume piece, and how that costume can dramatically change… Eloise starts the show as if her body is something she wears for others and it doesn’t quite fit right. By the end she is like a perfect, beautiful, not-quite-human marble statue. Will begins as if his body was a pair of delightfully comfy, cozy pajamas, and ends as if, well, to describe it might give away some of the twist. When they interact with each other, even in the smallest moments, and even when they’re nowhere near physically touching, it’s like watching the best dance partnership you’ve ever seen. And both leave not just their hearts, but their souls onstage. It’s hard to believe that such performances are repeatable night after night. It is a masterclass.
It is worth noting that, on paper, both Gardner and Klein were unusual choices for this piece… it is a credit to the creative team that they saw the potential in what they could do…that’s not always the case, and I hope more productions follow “Opposite’s…” lead. The piece is elevated to new heights by having Gardner and Klein on board.
The only misstep, if you can call it that, is, perhaps the set design (though this is not the fault of the scenic designer, Brendan McCann). The team has done a great job with their space. The environment is created with wonderful lighting (by Zach Pizza) and strategic furniture pieces, and Klein very cleverly uses the limitations of the set and what could have been boring scene transitions to show elements of Will’s life outside of Eloise’s gilded haven. But the show would be even more elevated with a full set that actually creates Eloise’s beautiful, luxury apartment. Eloise’s wealth is a huge part of the story – both in terms of plot, and character and there is a little more than the required dose of suspension of disbelief needed to imagine the stunning apartment (and all that it represents) with only some abstract furniture pieces and minimalistic set design.
It is easy to forget that Griffin is the author of the piece as well as the actress playing Eloise. She disappears so beautifully into her character that it’s hard to think of her also being the mastermind behind every beat of the story. But mastermind she is and credit must be paid to her extraordinary achievement. Griffin is known as an especial expert of magical realism and heightened language. Both are absent here. One is reminded of the story behind one of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” most beloved episodes, “Hush.” Creator Joss Whedon’s success with the show had long been minimized by critics claiming it was only Whedon’s talent with dialogue that made it work. Wanting to prove that he didn’t simply have one “go to” skill to rely on, he wrote an episode with no dialogue whatsoever – and it became one of the greatest episodes of television ever made. One imagines something similar with Griffin and “Opposite…” She has taken away the most fundamental vocabularies of her work… and it doesn’t matter one bit. This is absolute realism in (pretty much) real time – one of the easiest structures to make painfully boring… and yet this is undeniably a Griffin masterpiece. It is crafted with the detail of a Faberge egg and you will want to see it more than once to fully appreciate just what she’s accomplished. Like her other work it cuts straight to the heart of the human condition.
I have a feeling that “Opposite…” may be received as a divisive piece. It will certainly make people angry and uncomfortable for wildly divergent reasons. Honest pieces have a tendency to do that. There are things we don’t want to take out and look at, and yet it is the job of the artist to help us look at the things that most need to be seen. The heart of what is uncomfortable about “Opposite…” is that Will and Eloise’s experiences are real, we can all relate to them in different ways and there are no easy answers or solutions. That’s not necessarily a pleasant thought… but it is a comforting one. We are not alone.
The piece also calls out the elements of our culture that are sliding downhill fast when it comes to intimacy, love, relationships of all kinds, sex and trauma. It’s much easier to pretend those issues don’t exist… it’s too hard to think about what it means if they do…if they’re not going anywhere. But, I think, ultimately “Opposite…” is not putting a final, terrifying “period” on those issues, rather it is a sobering cautionary tale – the point is not to wallow in the tragic elements, but to make sure that you do everything in your power to keep that tale from coming true. I desperately want to talk about the last scene in the show, but I don’t want to give anything away. I will say there’s a physicalized moment that is so beautiful and devistating that I don’t have words to describe it. I’ve never seen anything like it in the theater before.
“The Opposite of Love” is sure to go down as one of the most brilliant works to come out of New York Rep – up there with “Church and State.” I hope it gets a longer New York life, and is seen outside of New York as well. This is a jewel of a show and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Trigger warnings if you do go see the show:
- Discussions of trauma, sexual abuse, assault and non-consensual acts
- Depictions of intimacy
- Discussions of suicide
- Graphic sexual language
I would not recommend this show for anyone who is not in high school or older, and I would advise those under eighteen to attend with caution.
The limited engagement of THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE runs off-Broadway from May 28th – June 15th at the Royal Family Theater (145 West 46th Street.) For tickets please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-opposite-of-love-tickets-874659950457?aff=oddtdtcreator