As the air turns crisp and the light begins to slant in that particular, amber-hued way unique to October, the staff at Literary Hub finds themselves drifting away from their usual towers of books. While the written word remains their primary anchor, this week has seen a shift toward what might be called a narrative diet of the "time-bound object." This is art that demands a specific presence: the kind of immersive experience one can only truly imbibe while sitting on a velvet theater seat or curled up on a couch, surrendering to the tempo of a live performance or a flickering screen. It is a season for the communal and the ephemeral, and the staff has been out in the world, absorbing stories that exist in the air as much as they do on the page.
James Folta has been immersing himself in the latter, specifically through the medium of live drama. This week, he attended a performance of ANON: A Tempest at Our Kitchen Table, a striking new production from the mind of Anne Washburn. Washburn has long been regarded as one of the most intellectually daring and "weirdest" dramatists currently working in the American theater. Known for her ability to blend the surreal with the profoundly human—most notably in her acclaimed work Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play—Washburn’s latest effort continues her tradition of challenging the audience’s expectations of what a stage play can accomplish.
The premise of ANON is deceptively straightforward: it follows two Texas households that find themselves on diametrically opposite sides of a modern culture war. However, as Folta points out, the simple logline of the play fails to capture the sheer brilliance of Washburn’s dialogue or the uncanny, often unsettling spectacle that she is famous for creating. It is a work that attempts to grapple with the visceral, often messy reality of contemporary political divisions without falling into the trap of didacticism or cliché.
Folta admitted to some initial hesitation regarding the play’s subject matter. "I was skeptical of something so ripped from the recent headlines," he noted, echoing a common sentiment among theatergoers who often find "topical" theater to be lacking in depth. However, the production quickly dispelled those concerns. Folta described the experience as excellent, noting it was a "very interesting dramatization of the moment." Much of the play’s success can be attributed to the synergy between Washburn’s writing and the staging by director Anne Kauffman. Kauffman, a frequent collaborator of Washburn’s, brings a precision to the "uncanny" elements of the script, supported by standout performances from the cast. Folta offered special praise for Crystal Finn and Izabel Mar, whose performances anchored the play’s more abstract moments in a recognizable, human reality. ANON is currently continuing its run off-Broadway at MCC, where it will remain through November 1, offering a rare opportunity to see a master of the form tackle the complexities of the present day.
Dan Sheehan is also turning his attention to the stage this weekend, though his theatrical journey takes him across the Atlantic. Sheehan, along with his father, is heading to the Dublin Theatre Festival, an institution that has long served as a premiere showcase for both Irish and international drama. Their destination is a production of Eugene O’Neill’s classic, A Moon for the Misbegotten. The play is a cornerstone of American drama, a haunting exploration of guilt, redemption, and the immigrant Irish experience, set in rural Connecticut.
