The New Group’s mission is to develop and produce powerful, contemporary theater that is adventurous, stimulating and most importantly “now.” Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s Downtown Race Riot seems to fit that bill as a commentary on our still prevalent racial tensions using a historical, period-specific incident. The events are depicted through a day in the life of one Greenwich Village family in 1976.
Chloe Sevigny (Oscar nominee for Boys Don’t Cry) plays Mary Shannon, a mother with two teenage children. She’s on drugs and disability. Current thinking involves a bogus paint chip eating lawsuit involving her sixteen year old son. Apparently there’s dough to score and a lawyer is coming over to help. He happens to be a fan of cocaine.
Meanwhile, the white son and his black best friend (David Levy and Moise Morancy) are contemplating joining the race riot in Washington Square Park that afternoon. The sister, who may or may not be a lesbian, more than flirts with the best friend. Hamburgers are made, burned and not eaten. None of this comes together in any sort of meaningful way. A slice of life drama about a dysfunctional family on the day of a race riot. There is a well-choreographed big scene at the end that was startling and intense.
Over the past ten years I have seen a number of New Group productions including The Jacksonians, Marie & Bruce, Sticks and Bones, Russian Transport and the musical Sweet Charity (Sutton Foster). Most famously, this company developed the Tony Award winning Avenue Q. Most of my experiences have been very positive. This year, for the first time, I decided to buy a subscription for the season. The first of four productions, Downtown Race Riot is a disappointment. Up next, Jerry Springer, the Opera.