Tony Award-winner “God of Carnage” at JET

Joseph Albright (left) as Michael, Sarab Kamoo as Veronica and Phil Powers as Alan. (Photo by Jan Cartwright)

 By SUE SUCHYTA   

           

            The Jewish Ensemble Theatre presents the 2009 Tony award-winning best play “God of Carnage” now through Jan.1 in the new Berman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 6600 W. Maple Rd. in West Bloomfield.

PARENTS ERRUPT OVER BOYS’ FIGHT

            Christopher Hampton’s translation of Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage” is a mixture of drama and comedy. Two sets of parents meet to discuss a fight between their 11-year-old sons which caused painful injuries to one of the boys.

FROM COOL TO HEATED

            What starts out as a civilized discussion quickly disintegrates into a heated verbal battle, but it’s not limited to the topic of their children: lifestyle choices, attitudes, parenting styles and personal peccadilloes take center stage.

PET PEEVE, CELL PHONE RAGE

            Sides change quickly and unpredictably as well: one of the fathers, a high-powered attorney, won’t stop taking cell phone calls from his office staff, while the other, a businessman, is criticized for his callous removal of a family pet.

AUDIENCE AS VOYEUR

            The four adults drink, the conversations become heated, and they change direction frequently and unexpectedly. One almost feels present in the room, overhearing a very discomforting series of arguments. It feels real, not part of a play.

MEET THE PARENTS

            Suzi Regan and Phil Powers play parents Annette and Alan, while Sarab Kamoo and Joseph Albright portray parents Veronica and Michael.  

            All four are strong actors. Kamoo exudes an agitated energy while Regan convincingly portrays her character’s physical vulnerability to stress.

            Powers epitomizes the cell phone addict we love to hate, while Albright plays the impulsive dad who doesn’t have a clue about his kids’ emotional needs.

FROM BETTER TO WORSE

            The story unfolds like a conversation one shouldn’t be overhearing, but you just can’t turn away because it draws one in. The characters are so proud of their civility, but by the end of the evening we’ve seen the worst in all of them.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

            The play is more than a drunken argument, though, showing how people struggle to “do the right thing” and be “civilized” when we really haven’t strayed far from our primitive ancestors’ “fight or flight” instinct.

CHILDREN CONSUME YOUR LIVES

            Some of the more interesting lines from the play include Michael’s comment about how no one warns you about starting a family when you get married, saying “Children consume your lives then destroy them.”

IMPULSE CONTROL

            Alan, the cell-phone addicted lawyer, says “Society tells us to control our impulses,” but can’t stop himself from paying more attention to his phone than the people in the room, which drives his wife Annette to an act of device desperation.

WEDDED TO GADGETS

            Annette is disgusted by how some men are “wedded to their gadgets,” tellingly saying that “a man ought to have his hands free,” and “should show he’s capable of being alone.”

PROVOCATIVE DRAMA WITH HUMOR

            If you like well-written, provocative plays and fast-paced, well-acted drama interspersed with humor, “God of Carnage” is a must-see production.

TO ATTEND

            The show is about 75 minutes long and runs without an intermission. For more information, call (248) 788-2900 or go to www.jettheatre.org.