REVIEW: Lean-To

Hikers camping create conflict

Molly Serenduke

What happens when you go camping and you end up sharing intimate space with a stranger? This is one of the central questions that starts off Lean-To, Stephen Sheffer's patient and intriguing play now running at the beautiful 59E59.

From the first moment, it's clear that Sheffer's intent is to have you feel what the characters are feeling on multiple levels. John Alejandro Jeffords' convincing display of exhaustion communicated entirely by silently changing his shoes and socks establishes a consistency - the actors are usually going to have something physical keeping them busy. Yvonne and Zed, played by the excellent Larisa Oleynik and Joshua David Robinson, put an entire tent together without speaking. This attribute about the play is interesting and it provides you time to think and exist with the characters in a calm but meaningful way.

There are lots of elements working here. The piece is nicely produced by New Light Theater Project and Pendragon Theatre; the design team inhabits the space well; the premise and banter back and forth establish and create a positive forward propulsion, and the bonds that all three characters form and don't form certainly amount to an entertaining story. There are several fine moments which are the culmination of all of the positive elements, but there are things holding back this play from being able to truly sing.

Relationships are tested, and Yvonne's anguish is earned but because she even admits that she doesn't really care all that much about her new relationship with Zed, it means the climax of the play falls a touch flat. She cares, but she doesn't care, and she's understanding, so the audience is left wondering. The design of Yvonne's soundless revelation brings the audience in close, and there are many details that turn this into a memorable monologue, but this moment doesn't truly sing. Because of the way this play is constructed, it feels like it's missing an element or two.

Lean-To is held back by certain attributes that aren't totally realized, but it is an amusing camping trip with some interesting twists and turns.