Precipice
nytheatre.com review by Gyda Arber
August 15, 2004
Precipice combines two one-act plays into one evening of theatre. The first takes place in a Palestinian compound and features a dialogue between an advisor to Yassir Arafat and an American Jewish human rights worker, held there against her will. The second play tells the story of an 18-year-old girl who has asked for assistance in committing suicide on the day before September 11.
Playwright David Mikhail clearly has some good ideas and seems to be saying something about terrorism and the death of innocence that occurred on Sept 10, 2001. The dark, dramatic, second story is more engaging than the first, but both pieces were somewhat confusing—some additional work on the script would surely help make things clearer.
The actors do good work, especially Jessica Jolly as the suicidal teenager and Andrew Thacher as “C,” the man she’s called upon to assist her. The director of the second piece, Joseph Vega, manages the dramatic tension very well, but the pacing of the first piece, directed by Rodney E. Reyes, seemed off, and the relationship between the actors was unclear.
It’s good to see, among all the polished shows this year involving people with Broadway credits, that FringeNYC, in the case of Precipice, is still fulfilling one of its original goals: allowing young artists to experiment with the art form, learning as they perform. I look forward to seeing more from David Mikhail and the other artists involved in this interesting show as they develop and refine their skills.
