Towards the end of Grasses of a Thousand Colors, we hear that “unusual behavior is observed by those without unusual behavior.” Consider yourself the latter when listening to this audio taped version of Wallace Shawn’s play. Originally staged in 2013 at New York’s Public Theater, the original cast has been reassembled to once again bust the boundaries of morality, decency and psychological surrealism.
The center of this particular world is Ben, a narcissistic egomaniac whose best and only true friend is in his pants. In fact, that relationship is a love affair that hardly has time for anyone else. Ben happens to be the inventor of Grain #1 which solved for plant food shortages caused by the exploding animal population. He is now wealthy and checks are pouring in. He gloats “no one who hasn’t made money can imagine how great it is.”
Naturally there are side effects to this world-changing dynamic. Animals start to be able to consume each other reducing the demands on the declining plant situation. But there are more side effects to be discussed. Pigs, for example, now have sex “fifteen or sixteen times every day.” Fans of absurdist humor will find dozens of nuggets to savor.
Ben is married to Cerise (Julie Hagerty). His mistress is Robin (Jennifer Tilly). A later girlfriend is named Rose (Emily Cass McDonnell). This wannabe – and arguably successful – playboy even has a cat named Blanche with whom intimacies are considered. This play is nominally a story about an apocalyptic world turned upside down. Instead, this slightly creepy and intensely detailed fairy tale is an unforgettably written diatribe about privileged men and their all-consuming sense of self. If you have ever wanted to listen in on the thoughts of an unlikely and unctuous Casanova, this is the play for you.
Fair warnings are necessary. This memoir is filled with both minor and major forays into sexual situations and commentary which are simultaneously hilarious and repulsive. Some will undoubtedly be offended. Once you settle into Mr. Shawn’s world and words (he plays Ben and is nearly perfect), the fascination of his boundary busting themes come into sharp relief.
All of the female characters and the actresses playing them are astonishingly memorable. What’s in the minds of these ladies who choose to spend time with this revolting man? “On those pointless evenings, I would stare at his member,” one says before remarking that there were “no answers in there.”
Grasses of a Thousand Colors is written with many monologues. As a result, the audio play format works beautifully with the material. Fans of Ms. Hagerty and Ms. Tilly will easily imagine their faces as they perform two very different and delightfully quirky characters. I’ve listened to a bunch of audio plays and performances over the past year or so. This one is top drawer.
Once again, if you can get past the R and X (and XXX) rated dialogue, this is a challenging and disturbing work worth a listen. The three hour play is segmented into six half hour sections. Did I mention violence? Oh, there’s that too. To be fair, the sputtering ending was anticlimactic. Then again, how do you top what came before? I can probably guarantee the scenes with Blanche alone will haunt for weeks.
Since the 2013 production we have had the #metoo movement and a global pandemic. White privilege is at the forefront of social conversation. Mr. Shawn’s play predates our current period with a phantasmagorical stream of consciousness hitting all of these themes. If you take this particular trip, at a minimum, you’ll get to experience “the coziness of waking up in a bed that’s not yours.”
Grasses of a Thousand Colors is available wherever you listen to podcasts as well as through Gideon Media’s website. The photo is from the original Public Theater stage production.
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