
(© Neilson Barnard)
The Apartment: A Play with Four Sides, at Teatro La Tea, begins promisingly with a short but sweet story of a young couple in a New York City apartment on the night of the 2003 blackout. Unfortunately, as the piece — co-written by Sorrel Barnard, Melissa Moran, Lindsay Joy Murphy, and David Scott — leaps forward in time with each successive scene, it loses both its charm and its dramatic credibility.
In the first segment, Sarah (Christina Broccolini) is thinking about leaving the city, still shaken by a devastating personal loss in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The blackout seems to confirm her fears, prompting her to declare, “I don’t have the skills for the apocalypse!” Tim (Chris Davis), whom she has recently started dating, wants her to look on the bright side of everything. Their exchange is filled with humor and passion and the two performers generate a believable chemistry.
The next scene is set in 2005, as Peter (Christopher Johnstone) and Kristina (Mara Lalli) begin their sublet of that same apartment — as well as their first attempt at living together. Again, the performers work well with one another as their characters try to reconcile their differing approaches to creating a home — while also worried about a potential bedbug infestation.
Things take a turn for the worse in the next scene, set in 2010, as Matt (Victor J. Wisehart) and Nahid (Shannon Amiry) apply to sublet the apartment. It’s clear early on that the couple is lying about several things, which are eventually revealed in a clunky, expository fashion. Moreover, Wiesehart and Amiry play their roles so broadly that it’s difficult to connect with their characters.
The final scene is set a year later, as professional cleaners Jerry (Vayu O’Donnell) and Rita (Sarah Nina Hayon) arrive to cleanse the apartment following a violent episode that seems rather melodramatically concocted. The piece appears to want to be a romantic comedy, but its dark set-up combined with the very uneven power dynamics of the situation gives it a creepy vibe and ends the performance on a sour note.
— Dan Bacalzo