“Cult of Love,” playing at the Second Stage/Hayes Theater (W. 44th Street), is serving up family dysfunction on a silver platter.
As the Dahl family gathers for the Christmas holiday at a Connecticut farmhouse, this inventive play by Leslye Headland tells the story of a white family that sings together, plays instruments together, but also is in denial together: denial over the patriarch’s dementia, the daughter Diana’s mental illness, and the family’s homophobia, when the elder daughter comes home for the holidays with her wife.
This play will have you laughing, shocked, and at times bewildered. Other times, you will feel the indignity of the homophobia that is so blatantly shown by the matriarch and siblings in this household. This family is full of judgment and its members viciously voice their disapproval of certain lifestyle choices. The hypocrisy is thick in the air. Denial is thick in the air.
This is a play that is humorous, wild, and shocking until it is no longer funny, but turns desperate and sad. How far will a family go to deny that drug addiction, mental illness, and dementia are happening among its members? How long can you act like everything is okay, when you know that everything is not okay and, in fact, that things are so bad that couples are facing breaking up?
There are so many complicated family relationships on stage that you find yourself keeping score, but you also see that this family that tries to present a façade of perfection is anything but. The patriarch Bill has dementia. His wife Ginny looks at his condition in a very matter-of-fact sort of way. Ginny is a homophobe and disrespects her daughter Evie’s wife Pippa.
Ginny and Bill’s son Mark and his wife Rachel are there for the Christmas holiday, but are struggling with their relationship. Their youngest son Johnny is a recovering addict who has come for the holiday with Loren, a fellow addict he is sponsoring. Their fourth child, Diana, is there with her husband James and they are full of judgment about everyone in the house, but especially Evie as a lesbian and Johnny as a former addict. Diana is constantly passing judgment on her siblings and tries to come off as holier-than-thou, but she is the most disturbed of all the children. Her affliction has been happening since her teen years and it is something that the entire family is aware of and tries to control.
You will never see a show on Broadway that features a dysfunctional family at this level of dysfunction. Watching this play may remind you of some of your relatives, but ideally it doesn’t. Or it may make you grateful for the family you have, if they are open minded and accepting of who you are. This play demonstrates that mental illness, unchecked, will not only affect the person with the condition, but all the family members that they come in contact with.
The cast of this production is riveting to watch. David Rasche is quite memorable and sympathetic as Bill. Mare Winningham delivers a powerful performance as Ginny, a mother who is oblivious to the serious issues happening in her family. She is in denial to the point of being pathological.
Rebecca Henderson is poignant as Evie, the successful, lesbian daughter who is made to feel like a sinner and outcast by her family. She delivers the character with strong conviction despite her mother and sister’s obvious disapproval and disrespect of her lifestyle.
Roberta Colindrez is marvelous as Evie’s wife Pippa. She holds her own with the family and supports her wife against the cruel words they spew. She delivers the role with a quiet but intense passion.
Christopher Sears is funny, direct, and truthful as Johnny, the addict in the family, who was driven to addiction by his family. Barbie Ferreira is amusing as Loren, a former addict who came with Johnny to have a sense of “normalcy” for the holiday. Her outspoken character fits right in with the “crazy” environment that she has walked into.
Zachary Quinto is touching and sympathetic as Mark, as his character struggles to figure out why he is a failure in life. Molly Bernard delivers a sublime performance as Rachel, Mark’s wife who deeply loves him but realizes that he can’t succeed in life until he gets away from his family. Shailene Woodley delivers a powerhouse and disturbing performance as Diana, the youngest adult daughter — a woman who judges and verbally assaults everyone she feels is not living life the way God wants them to. Christopher Lowell is dynamic in the role of James, Diana’s loyal, supportive husband, supporting any and everything she says and does, no matter what.
The playwright handles very serious issues with a load of humor. Trip Cullman provides spot-on direction. Presented by Second Stage Theater, the production features a detailed set by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Sophia Choi, lighting design by Heather Gilbert, sound design by Darron L. West, and music supervision by Jacinth Greywoode.
By the end of this play, you will be emotionally drained, marvelously entertained, and maybe a bit enlightened.
For ticket information, visit 2st.com.