By Stanford Friedman
Who hasn’t thought about jumping? Whether from the ledge of a tall structure or from the confines of an imposed lifestyle or from the pains of a high-pressure job, the instinct to leap is never far from mind, offering a chance to escape and a promise of freedom. This is certainly the case for the three young adults who find themselves on the brink of depression in Brendan George’s new meditation on survival, The Vessel.
The title, of course, is a reference to that cursed, 150-foot-tall climbable sculpture in Hudson Yards, which the playwright describes, not inaccurately, as an “upside-down-pineapple-honeycomb-spaceship-shawarma- Eiffel Tower-Rockefeller-Christmas-Tree-thing.” Another description for it would be death magnet. Four suicides occurred there from 2020 to 2021, before safety nets were finally installed around its perimeter. Across three scenes, George’s play weaves itself throughout this fatal period, time-jumping between casualties, its characters traumatized by the deaths as well as by their own set of problems.
Drake (Sofonyas), Missy (Anastasia Locke) and Viggo (Will Ingram) are employed at the structure as security guards, or “ambassadors,” as management insists they be called. They spend their shifts watching out for each other when not reaching out to any of the tourists they suspect could be the next potential jumper (Native New Yorkers are left to survive on their own). Behind his sunglasses, Drake carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He stays up late surfing the internet to track the latest bad news in the world, while still dealing with the aftershocks of the events that led him to quit his former job as a guard at an elementary school. Sofonyas, in his Off-Broadway debut, gives a charismatic performance, leading Drake toward a dangerous edge but landing him safely on his feet.
Missy is a born-and-bred New Yorker who doubts she will ever leave the city. Her happy, chatty nature provides much-needed sparks of life for her co-workers, but belies a deep sadness. Her need for a fresh start grows clearer as the weeks progress. Locke, also making her Off-Broadway premiere, does well in handling a role that could use a bit more fleshing out. She seems the most damaged of the trio, having witnessed one of the suicides, but lacking a more complete backstory, it is unclear what exactly is at the heart of her depression.
Viggo, a former raft guide from Utah, is the youngest, nerdiest, and most naive of the group. He is also the least realistic. Misreading all the social clues around him, he hides an unlikely past that involves extreme wealth and religious upheaval. As he ultimately moves up the ladder at his job, he finds the stability he barely knew he was seeking. Ingram manages to make him likable if not totally believable.
Staged within the limitations of a small black box theater at 59E59, scenic designer Tony DiBernardo has built an effective and simple Vessel stand-in, a slightly elevated platform with edges that light up whenever a character begins to ponder what would happen if they leapt. This rounded triangle of a stage sits in the center of a tight square space, with the audience seated on all four sides. The geometry proves something of a blocking nightmare for director Peter Charney as the threesome try to navigate the pitfalls of their lives without turning their backs on one another.
The Vessel – by Brendan George, directed by Peter Charney
WITH: Will Ingram (Viggo), Anastasia Locke (Missy) and Sofonyas (Drake).
Scenic Design by Tony DiBernardo, Lighting Design by Yiyuan Li, Sound Design by Emma Hasselbach. A Through the Tollbooth Co. production at 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th St. https://www.59e59.org/. Through August 23. Running time: 90 minutes
