Anthropology and autism meet provocatively if not always successfully in Lucy, a drama by Canadian playwright Damien Atkins. The play deals with Vivian, a famed anthropologist and a woman who admits to being physically repelled by the idea of motherhood, and what happens when she's compelled by circumstances to take on the care of her severely autistic 13-year-old daughter, a child she abandoned when an infant.
It's not only motherhood that repels Vivian. She's curt and uncomfortable with people generally and finds peace only when on a dig. Tying the themes together, the title is not only the daughter's name; it also refers to the major anthropological discovery in 1974 of the skeleton of a young woman believed to be over 3 million years old and dubbed Lucy.
As Vivian attempts to deal with Lucy under the guidance of a therapist, the script frequently tends to sound like a manual on how to treat autistic children. But the knowledge that autism is a near-epidemic disability makes these passages quite engrossing. The script seems to go awry, however, when the overwhelmed Vivian cracks and begins telling anyone who'll listen that autism is the next step in human evolution, nature's tamping down of emotions after the overindulgences brought on by the ease of civilization. Lucy is the wave of the future, Vivian proclaims, declaring herself to be autistic as well. Vivian's intensity as she acts upon this reasoning ratchets up the drama, but the writing and the situation begin to feel strained, and the play's conclusion seems muddied.
Nevertheless, the solid production manages to resonate with considerable emotional validity, thanks to fine performances and William Carden's sensitive direction. Lisa Emery compellingly exposes Vivian's nerve ends, and Lucy DeVito is convincing — and heartbreaking — as the autistic Lucy. There are excellent contributions from Scott Sowers as Vivian's ex-husband, Keira Naughton as Vivian's sympathetic assistant, and Christopher Duva as the therapist.
Presented by the Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 W. 52nd St., NYC.
Nov. 1-18. Mon., Wed., and Thu., 7 p.m.; Fri., 8 p.m., Sat., 2 and 8 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m. (The Sun., Nov. 4 performance is at 5 p.m.)
(212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-4111 or www.theatermania.com.
Casting by Janet Foster.