Playwright Elizabeth Diggs treads familiar ground in her family drama Close Ties, including the problem of what to do with a failing aged parent, mother-daughter animosity, and simmering sibling jealousies. But she populates her play with well-drawn characters and writes about them with palpable sympathy. An ensemble cast delivering a full complement of three-dimensional portrayals under Pamela Berlin's sure direction also goes a long way in making this a worthwhile production.
The scene is the summer home of Bess and Watson Frye (Carole Monferdini and Jack Davidson) in the Berkshires. The house was given to them by Bess' widowed mother, Josephine (Judith Roberts), a fact that the loquacious Josephine doesn't let them forget. Also on hand for an eventful two days in the country are Bess and Watson's three daughters. Anna (Polly Lee), the eldest, is taking a holiday from her husband and children and beginning to question her marriage. Evelyn (Fiona Gallagher) is paranoid and bitter after a traumatic divorce and compulsive about expressing hatred for her mother. Connie (Julie Fitzpatrick), the youngest sister, is enmeshed in college studies. There are also Thayer (David Gelles Hurwitz), the sister's good-natured teenage brother, and an unexpected visitor, Ira (Tommy Schrider), Evelyn's paramour of two months.
Josephine's mounting signs of senility — forgetfulness, confusion, and outbursts of fury — turn the gathering on its ear as the family argues about how to handle the problem. (It's interesting that Alzheimer's is never mentioned.) The tension also pushes the sisters into revealing long-held resentments about each other.
There are some ambiguous resolutions, and Roberts' portrayal of Josephine — sometimes charming, sometimes frightening — gives the production dramatic heft. But the play never reaches a pitch that delivers any real catharsis. Rather, you have the feeling that you've spent a couple of hours in interesting fashion, spying on some neighbors — housed, by the way, in an inviting country kitchen designed by Michael Schweikardt — and watching as they attempt to hash out recognizable problems.
Presented by and at Ensemble Studio Theatre,
549 W. 52nd St., NYC.
Sept. 25-Oct. 12. Mon., Wed.-Sat., 7 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 2 p.m.
(212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-4111 or www.theatermania.com or www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org.
Casting by Janet Foster.