"LETTERS FROM MAX, A RITUAL" AT SIGNATURE THEATER

"LETTERS FROM MAX," A RITUAL," AT SIGNATURE THEATER

By Sarah Ruhl

Directed by: Kate Whoriskey

The play is based on orrepondence between the playwright Sarah Ruhl and his brilliant young student Max Ritvo who died of cancer at the age of 25, and the book of letters between the playwright and Max, "Letters From Max." which was published posthumously. This epistolary play is the letters they exchanged for almost four years. Max Ritvo was a brilliant poet and there is amazing amount of beautifully sensitive poetry, dialogue and songs in those letters. Since the play is based on a real tragedy, an early death of a wonderful talent and we are always aware that this young poet who has already published a few books and have a great future ahead of him will not survive,  still the play is a happy play, not all along but there is plenty of humor and vitality in it though the underlying sadness is palpitable and that's where the brilliance of the playwright, the director and the actress (Jessica Hecht ) lies.  Jessica Hecht who play the role of Sarah Ruhl, the Yale drama teacher is very tender, soft, funny and extremely caring.  Her compassion comes through all along and that adds to the softness of the grief. Actual the play is done not about grief  so much but about the celebration of Max's young life and his potential.

Max is being played by two actors, Zane Pais and Ben Edelman. I saw Zane Pais in the role the night I saw the play and Zane Pais was amazingly energetic and full of enthusiasm and very funny. He has great stage presence and Charisma and even when we know that he is terminally ill, we want to postpone that feeling and enjoy his vitality and his poetry.

Jessica Hecht as Sarah is beguiling, she breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience involving us in the feeling of the ultimate loss of her friendship she is going through but hiding it with great un-hidden pain with her humerous remarks.

Some time the play does feel like a long poetry reading with music (Ben Edelman on piano) but that's ok because the play is about a poet and his work and the work is very impressive. Any one who loves the spoken word won't be disappointed. Max Ritvo was twenty years old when he started studying with Sarah Ruhl and for the remaining five years they wrote letters to each other about morality, philosophy, after life and the joys of poetry.

The set by Marsha Ginsberg is exciting and original. There is a round cube like structure upstage center and once in a while the front wall/doors open up and that area serves as a room in the hospital with Max lying there for one of the many tests he had to go through. Finally he moves to California to be his mother and the letters between the two of them continues. Finally he dies and the sadness engulf us, that sadness all of us have been avoiding for two hours.

Costumes are by: Anita Yavich, lighting by Amith Chandrashhaker and projection and video by S Katy Tucker.

Ben Edelman and Zane Pais composed original music created with sound designer, Sinan Refik Zafar and the beautiful song at the end of the play was composed by Max Ritvo.

REVIEWED

By Bina Sharif

ATCA

Editor/Publisher: artsinternational.blogspot.com

Co-host: HI DRAMA

binashariff@gmail.com

Cell: 212-260-6207

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