Sweet and Sad

Richard Nelson's Apple family returns in a more reflective, less combative mood in "Sweet and Sad," a rumination on the state of the American union seasoned with equal parts of the titular flavors. We met this clan of three sisters, a brother, their amnesiac uncle, and the gentleman friend of one of the women in last season's "That Hopey Changey Thing," presented as part of the Public Lab series and set on election night 2010, when the idealistic aspirations of the Obama administration are dashed on the rocks of hard political reality. The siblings clash over brother Richard's decision to leave the Democratic attorney general's office for a berth at a ritzy—and presumably Republican—law firm. The family's dysfunction and disillusion parallel the polarized national discourse, as the representative of the older generation has lost his memory and the younger members feel lost and abandoned by a corrupt political system, a bankrupt economy, and a shattered culture.

The new work takes place during—and had its opening night on—the 10th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The family is gathering at the upstate New York home of sister Barbara (Maryann Plunkett) to attend a memorial concert at the local high school where she teaches. The mentally wandering Uncle Benjamin (Jon DeVries) and divorced sister Marian (Laila Robins) are now living with Barbara. Richard (Jay O. Sanders) continues at his new job in the city, and the third sister, Jane (J. Smith-Cameron), is becoming more committed to her relationship with Tim (Shuler Hensley), an actor who must wait tables to make ends meet. The tension among the siblings has lessened since their last meeting, with fewer debates over politics and a greater focus on the meaning of loss, mourning, and appropriate compensation, both figurative and literal.

There are a few writerly devices. When Barbara brings out a pile of datebooks, bought at an estate sale, that might have belonged to a victim or witness of Sept. 11, it feels like an imposition rather than an organic outgrowth of the characters' interactions. In another stagy sequence, Uncle Benjamin, a retired actor, reads a transcript of an interview conducted by his niece, in order to rekindle his failing memory. This also seems forced by the playwright instead of arrived at by the characters. Despite these flaws, "Sweet and Sad" is a subtle and serious look at where we are today.

As he did with "Hopey Changey," Nelson serves as his own director and elicits such naturalistic performances from his skilled actors that they don't seem to be acting at all. It's almost like eavesdropping on private conversations, with every pause and interruption ringing true. The buried grudges among brother and sisters, the tentative awkwardness of a relative newcomer, the discomfort of a purposefully avoided subject—all are perfectly captured.

Sanders solidly limns Richard's conflicted emotions, ranging from convivial joking with his sisters to anger at their condescension to sorrow over the loss of friends. Robins' expressive features convey Marian's hidden turmoil over a recent tragedy. Plunkett gives Barbara an urgent need to understand the confusing political landscape, while Smith-Cameron endows Jane with an iron stubbornness that is both frightening and funny. Hensley delicately conveys Tim's surface insecurities and hidden strengths. In the most challenging assignment, DeVries painstakingly charts Benjamin's journey through his fogbound mind.

Though Nelson shows his hand a trifle obviously here and there, this is a telling chapter in the lives of an individual family and in our national story. The script provided with the press materials indicates that there will be more plays about the Apples. I look forward to the next one.

Presented by and at the Public Theater as part of Public Lab, 425 Lafayette St., NYC. Sept. 11–25. Tue.–Sun., 7:30 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 2 p.m. (212) 967-7555 or www.publictheater.org. Casting by Jordan Thaler and Heidi Griffiths.