Theatre: “New Born” @ Minetta Lane Theatre
Ella Hixson’s “New Born” (Minetta Lane Theatre) is not just one play but a suite of three, and fortunately for us, we are spoiled for choice.
Of the three, “Rattle” is the most striking. Marianna Gailus (who was Andrew Scott’s understudy in last year’s “Vanya”) is stunning as Martha, a young plainspoken woman/bartender in small-town Wyoming, circa 1923. One night a drunken cowboy (and closet KKK member) comes into the bar and without provocation takes a swing at her and knocks her tooth out. She vows revenge but how? This is nowheresville America, and girl power is decades away.
“Deadwood” stars Hugh Jackman as The Tree Surgeon who has been hired to prune the rotten branches from a woman’s tree. While he may have come to work, one look at handsome Hugh and the customer’s eager to play. A romance soon develops and a child is born, but once that occurs, the relationship changes significantly.
In “Light”, Sepideh Moafi (from “The Pit”) plays The Mother, a thirty-something designer who’s slowly being driven crazy by her overactive toddler. One evening after he falls asleep, she shows up at a party to deliver a house key to her visiting brother-in-law and comes face-to-face with his client, a gorgeous and well-known pop singer. The singer inexplicably becomes flirty towards The Mother, who is both shocked and flattered by the attention. This turns into a mutual texting obsession that goes on for weeks. Is this an innocent girl crush, or just Mom’s fantasy escape from her humdrum existence.
“New Born” is presented by Audible & TOGETHER, an Off-Broadway collaboration between Audible Theater and a theatrical company led by Jackman and Sonia Friedman. The plays are then recorded and released globally as Audible originals.
“New Born” is one of several plays in rotation at the Minetta Lane Theatre this summer. Catch any or all of them. Storytelling at its finest.
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