FantasticBabblings

Yesterday I saw a performace of “Eye of God”, a play by Tim Blake Nelson. This is Nelson’s first play written in 1992 when he was 24. It is only now making its New York debut, the innaugural production of the new theatre company, Theatre East.

Tim Blake Nelson also has a successful acting career. You might remember him as Delmar, one of George Clooney’s sidekicks in the Coen Brothers’ “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

The story is compelling on a human level. About seemingly ordiary people in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, the story has operatic dimensions. It is about love and the lack of love, faith and the lack of faith, life and death. And it is about eyes, anatomical and metaphorical. A 13 year old boy witnesses something horrible which propels him on a journey through the darkness that is his sad life. A released prisoner propels himself upward from darkness on a journey towards what he believes to be light. The nexus that crosses their two lives is a woman of optimism, but no faith, and a need to love. It is all overseen by a kindly sheriff who dispenses homespun philosophy, thankfully without being folksy.

While I thought it was absorbing and engaging, the play did show some signs of the youth and inexperience of the author. Some metaphors are heavy. Some scenes take too long for what they contribute and sometimes the play loses its narrative momentum. At times the structure suggest there might be a detective story in the offing, but the mystery is too obvious for that. It did work for me as kind of a morality play, but unlike the Medieval morality plays, the morals here are a bit more complex. And there certainly are elements of tragedy. I thought the flaws were minor and the play was quite satisfying.

I don’t think the set designer helped much. Playing areas were raked for no good reason, curved like one side of a half-pipe. It cluttered the stage and was distracting. The rest of production was impressive, despite the limitations of the space.   I did like the minimalist approach of the director. Rather than pursue verisimilitude, the stage comprised bare playing areas in which place is indicated by a spare selection of props, lighting and sound elements. The audience is given the pleasure of filling in the details and filling out the ambiance in their imagination.

The actors are all fine, especially Ehad Berisha who plays the 13 year old boy. Though his words were few, he made a harrowing impression of a young life in a dark storm of feelings.

Tim Blake Nelson directed a film version of the play which was released in 1997, with Mary Kay Place, Martha Plimpton, Richard Jenkins, Hal Holbrook and others. I have added it to my Netflix queue. I am eager to see what Nelson did with his own story.

If you are in New York, check out Theatre East. I expect good things from them.

(Disclosure: Daryl Wendy Strauss, one of the producers of the show, is a friend of mine. However, I believe my opinions were not swayed by that.)