Sam Shepard's "True West"

[Cooper]

It stars Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano and is playing at the American Airlines Theatre. There's a reason why some plays are referred to as 'theater of the absurd' and True West definitely fits that category, it's truly bizarre and unpredictable but in a good way.

 

Austin (Paul Dano) is house sitting for his mom while she's on a trip to Alaska. His one chore is to water the plants. Suddenly, his brother Lee (Ethan Hawke) shows up broke and just back from the desert. Right from the start there's brotherly rivalry. Austin, the more responsible one, is working on a script that he's counting on to make it big and Lee, the carefree one, is becoming quite the distraction.

 

Lots of drama develops between the brothers when Lee joins Austin's producer for a golf game. Their relationship now becomes destructive and their past behavior unfolds. Issues about Dad as being a drunk and hopeless are discussed but no dad in the cast. After the destruction of the kitchen and the death of all the plants, Mom shows up. She's rather simple and seems clueless, keeps wanting to see Picasso thinking he's coming to visit the local museum. Her reaction to the kitchen mess is not what one would have expected.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this play. It's extremely well written and acted. A story that will captivate your attention from beginning to end. I'm glad I saw it.

[Cooper]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/04/the-chaos-of-american-manhood-in-true-west