Playwrights Theatre goes ‘Where The Sun Never Sets.’
By: Stuart Duncan
Where The Sun Never Sets, which has just opened in a world premiere at Playwrights Theatre in Madison, is that rarest of stage species a literate satire, bordering on melodrama, that is actually howlingly funny. Playwright Bob Clyman juggles politics, religion, economics and whatever else dares to show up, adds a dash of fantasy and then for a full two hours urges audiences to fall under a magical spell of sophisticated disbelief.
Annie (played with great charm and just a hint of sexiness by Andrea Bianchi), beloved wife of Bob (Jim Ligon, his face an open book in big print), starts spouting trickle-down economics, unusual for a liberal attorney. She trades in the Subaru for a SUV and takes off on an all-day shopping spree just after being welcomed to their new neighborhood by Monsignor Calibar (Daniel Robert Sullivan).
Not only that but one day, on a trip to the mall, she disappears. Bob’s valiant search in the dark underbelly of New Jersey suburbs leads him to an elusive hitchhiker (Sullivan again), three cops named Halihan, Hoolihan and Monahan (Brendan Patrick Burke, Michael Irvin Pollard and Joel Leffert) and then a couple of FBI agents (Burke and Pollard again) until he finally arrives in the "valley," a utopia somewhere in the North Jersey hills.
All of this might well have been wasted by overproduction and certainly by overacting, but director John Pietrowski (Playwrights artistic director as well) holds the reins to his cast of seven tightly, and set designer Richard Turick has kept the stage uncomplicated a few levels, a sliding door at the rear just enough to allow changes in mood and location. It is playwright Clyman who provides the fireworks:
"Actually, I do have some problems with God," says Bob. "As a logical construct. I mean, if there is a God, and he wants us to believe that, why would he give us a rational mind but no proof of his existence?"
Or, an FBI man talking about Calibar: "For a while he resisted the siren call. He must have known there’d be no turning back from a life of pure subjectivity. Then one dark night he was cornered and savagely beaten by a gang of logical positivists. The next day he enrolled at a little-known off-shore, external degree program specializing in random events. They accept only those who don’t believe in education."
Or this (the Hitchhiker confiding to Bob): "Be careful, they’re shrewd. Avoid habits of any kind. If anyone talks to you, you’re a consultant. Say just enough, and always be known for your smile. They like to talk about celebrities and who killed Kennedy. Bring cotton to stuff in your ears or their conversation will drive you insane."
You will have to bring your wits with you, plus a sense of humor. It will be worth it.
Where The Sun Never Sets continues at Playwrights Theatre, 33 Green Village Road, Madison, through Feb. 18. Performances: Feb. 8, 5:30 p.m.; Feb. 15, 3, 8 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m. Tickets cost $25-$27.50, $22.50-$24.75 seniors, $15 students. For information, call (973) 514-1787, ext. 30. On the Web: www.ptnj.org

