Lonely Planet (Keen Company)

“The revival reminds us of how deep the loss still is from those who have died...Arnie Burton and Matt McGrath will have you falling in love with these men...They are touching and heartwarming, leaving an audience full of sniffling humans, who still remember how many were lost...The play is so simple, yet so profound...This powerful play with these marvelous actors has a one, two, punch reminding us that this is a lonely planet and it is only by connection that we live on.” Full Review

“What touched me so deeply about their relationship and what I think Steven Dietz captures so well, is their complete and utter acceptance of each other without judgement...The performances by both Arnie Burton as Jody and Matt McGrath as Carl were stellar...I think what makes ‘Lonely Planet’ so relatable now, is the sense of danger looming for the characters that makes them feel vulnerable in ways they’re not used to.” Full Review

"The performances and high standards set forth by Keen Company's production of 'Lonely Planet' exemplify all that Off Broadway can offer...The company puts forward a challenge to think on, connect with, and truly hear the confusion of a tumultuous time...'Lonely Planet' shows us the 'Greenland Problem' of it all: which messes do we accept as a part of the world that we live in, and which distortions do we ignore, or else find the strength to face?" Full Review

"Its depiction of the plague years still hits hard. And it’s hard to imagine a better cast than the stars of this revival, directed by Jonathan Silverstein for Keen Company. As the two characters spar with each other, mostly through inspired put-downs and bon mots, McGrath expertly parries Burton’s superlative sardonic takes. They duel as though their lives depended on it—which they ultimately might." Full Review

“Dietz’s play unfolds on a modest scale, offering an intimate look at how men grappled with the everydayness of suddenly living at death’s door and the fear that they might be next...As directed by Silverstein, Dietz’s play remains quietly captivating in its simplicity, and the easy intimacy between Burton and McGrath is remarkably moving...The play’s conceit can feel a bit overdetermined. But its portraits of individual response to trauma could hardly be more relevant." Full Review

“An emotionally resonant play about two men’s changing perceptions of the messy, all-too-real world they’re navigating...Burton and McGrath take advantage of all the humor and heart in Dietz’s script...Their impeccably credible performances, thoroughly in tune with each other, outshine everything else about the otherwise fair-to-middling Keen Company production. 'Lonely Planet,' in their hands, is the kind of compelling evening that invites a second visit.” Full Review

“An intimate portrait of two friends at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic...The lights come up on a single chair onstage, and the quiet, reserved Jody appears. Played by Burton...he is instantly likable...The character of Carl, played by McGrath, captures hearts...The final scene is the most heartfelt of all...The contrast in the men's characters is still there, but it has done a complete 180...Leaving questions hanging and not a dry eye in the house.” Full Review

“This play felt like a period piece and a play set in the near future. There is a timelessness in how we deal with grief, loss, and fear...This absurdist and tragic farce is heavy with metaphors, stacked up as high as the chairs in the store, so high that it’s hard at moments to see the tragedy and sadness that lies within this story...The beauty of ‘Lonely Planet’ is that the more one ponders the events, dreams, lies, and numerous metaphors, the deeper and more hopeful the play feels.” Full Review

"Mr. Dietz has something besides humor in mind and that something — the weight of grief, the paralyzing fear of illness — emerges over the course of the show...In the plain, affectless staging by Mr. Silverstein, Mr. Burton and Mr. McGrath expertly underplay the characters...You may wish, at times, for a dash of immoderation, but the show’s deceptively gentle approach is also what makes it stand apart in our angry times." Full Review

“Keen Company’s trenchant and splendidly acted revival will eventually tug at your heartstrings...The script may well strike you as entertaining but unfocused...The interplay between Burton and McGrath and their deeply felt portrayals do more than justice to the wit and pathos in Dietz’s script. The sensitive, unforced direction of Silverstein further allows them to play the script’s most telling moments to their fullest...Despite its clever meanderings, it does make its point.” Full Review

"Silverstein has found an ideal cast and he has guided them faultlessly through the script's hairpin turns...Seeing 'Lonely Planet' was an almost combative experience; even as I resisted Dietz's setup, I fell under the spell of his writing and the performances...Dietz gets at something hard to shake off about the way gay men had to deal, daily, with death...Keen Company was right to revive this troubled, troubling play just now." Full Review

"The writing in the first act is cogent and judicious, or so it seems as played by Burton and McGrath, both of whom give the kind of detailed performances that can only come from extensive preparation and concentration...'Planet' could still use some cutting, but it is slightly better in some ways than its first reviews might indicate, and that’s what can happen to a play when it is given a superior production with deeply felt performances." Full Review

"It's easy to see why this particular text is rarely regarded in the same breath as its seminal contemporaries...'Lonely Planet' has a hard time figuring out what it wants to be: Is it a poignant tearjerker or an absurdist fantasia (on national themes)? Dietz can't make up his mind...Fortunately, when the loquacity of the play becomes soporific, the performances more than make up for it...Silverstein stages the play with sensitivity." Full Review

“There is surprisingly little emotional resonance. One of the problems may be the lengthy monologues, most of which are expository and come across rather sterile and matter of fact. As a result, there isn’t much left to feel. Nonetheless, Burton and McGrath are marvelously paired. Each of their performances is well worth the price of a ticket...'Lonely Planet' is a show that could well be described as 'enjoyable enough.’" Full Review

"At times maddeningly elliptical, it uses symbolism, irony, and a sprinkling of absurdism to communicate the anguish felt by its protagonists...Jonathan Silverstein’s compact production builds in tension...It reflects a world overtaken by something strange yet familiar, terrifying but unavoidable...For Dietz’s play to achieve maximum power, the turn of events should sneak up on the audience; here, it’s largely telegraphed.” Full Review

"In some ways it is dated--many people are living long lives with HIV--and in some ways it is not--friendship, denial, and grief will never go out of style. 'Lonely Planet's' main strength is its elliptical approach to death and grieving, along with the ability to represent an epidemic through two characters...This production is mostly solid, but not totally...Despite its faults, its strengths ultimately outweigh its weaknesses." Full Review

“The potency of its theatrical topicality has faded somewhat amid over three decades of AIDS-related plays…If Dietz's combination of gentle sentiment and whimsical humor is to reach us deeply, it needs a far more compelling production than this one…; here, it comes off as a mildly dated, minor handling of a subject treated with far greater serio-comic power by other playwrights…Dietz's plotting, like this production's pace, creeps along, with very few moments of stinging dramatic substance.“ Full Review

“Under Silverstein's placid direction, Jody and Carl never really get angry with each other or show much emotion. The entire play remains basically on one level. Anshuman Bhatia's setting is very realistic, but on the other hand something more surreal might have been in order. Paul Hudson's lighting usually telegraphs the time of day, but not always. How much time goes by is never made clear.” Full Review

"Despite the outstanding performances of Burton and McGrath, the revival fails to deliver...That failure appears to be in the script itself and in choices made by the director...The plot is too predictable to support a two-act play...There are too many tropes in the script for any one of them to have the impact it should and to allow the bones of the play an opportunity to be properly enfleshed by the competent cast...One wishes they had a more compelling play to exercise their craft.” Full Review

“This revival seems a bit toothless and the flaws hit you harder than the pain...It’s an interesting meditation on the way fear paralyzes and the way grief activates. But the power is undercut by far too obvious references and inappropriate whimsy...Much is moving, and McGrath and especially Burton, in his isolating terror, leave an impression. But my overall response was to wish I could have seen it back in 1994, when the punch it packs might not have been so muffled." Full Review

“The play's premise is straightforward, and the plot is relatively uneventful...The explicit and implicit intertextual connections sometimes detract from the effectiveness of the play as these come off as inorganic and self-consciously writerly...The absurdist elements and the burdensome weight of symbolism often occur at the expense of character development and relationships...Burton and McGrath are wonderful, and their performances compensate for perceived frustrations in the script.” Full Review

This current production left me cold. While Dietz does aim for something meaningful, the two characters never feel like friends...Also, neither really is all that likable a character...Jody and Carl, while friends, never have any real connection throughout the play...You never feel any real real grief...Not every show needs to pack the centrifugal force of other plays dealing with AIDS like ‘As Is’ or ‘The Normal Heart,’ but real emotion is lost in this one which, sadly, becomes tedious.” Full Review