It doesn’t occur typically, however each every so often a play shouldn’t be a lot a play as it’s an audition for a Netflix or HBO collection. The TV firm might be NBC or CBS if not for the truth that “The Reservoir,” which opened Tuesday on the Atlantic Theater Firm, is about alcoholism and Alzheimer’s.
No fewer than three characters in Jake Brasch’s new play have Alzheimer’s and, as is to be anticipated, they’re all previous individuals. Extra novel is the alcoholic. He’s a younger school dropout named Josh, who’s performed with huge, beguiling allure by Noah Galvin (“Theater Camp”). Josh began consuming closely at age 13.
Josh’s mom (Heidi Armbruster) and Josh’s solely grandparent who doesn’t have Alzheimer’s (Peter Maloney) rapidly set up themselves as minor threats to his having a good time together with his alcoholism, which incorporates downing vanilla extract as a result of Josh is underage and may’t all the time get his fingers on actual booze.
Josh’s three different grandparents (Caroline Aaron, Mary Beth Peil, Chip Zien) are completely lovable and get laughs by talking Yiddish and/or four-letter phrases in a approach that solely the older set can pull off with such aplomb.
Throughout the course of “The Reservoir,” Josh wakes up from two spectacular benders and he entertains us in a approach that’s very a lot the way in which individuals at Alcoholics Nameless conferences do within the first half of their confessional speeches. There are many nice jokes and boasts of how a lot was consumed earlier than the Uh-Oh second of their life arrived to shatter that joviality.
Elaine Stritch turned this format into an entire night on the theater. Within the first act of “Elaine Stritch at Liberty,” she complained with nice wit in regards to the tight-ass buddies and colleagues who tried to forestall her from consuming. Then within the second act, she congratulated herself for getting sober and doing what these tight-asses begged her to do.
Thankfully, Brasch hasn’t written many scenes the place Josh attends AA conferences. Then once more, he doesn’t make us really feel that Josh is ever in any actual hazard. A few of this might be blamed on Shelley Butler’s too buoyant route, which doesn’t all the time rein in Galvin’s standup-comedy instincts. The actor is an actual star who by no means leaves the stage for the complete two hours and quarter-hour of “The Reservoir.” He’s even there, mendacity flat on his again, after we first enter the theater. Galvin is greater than prepared for prime time.
“The Reservoir” is introduced by the Ensemble Studio Theatre with the Atlantic Theater Firm.
