Playwright: Tara Sissom . At: The New Colony at Viaduct Theater, 3111 N. Western. Phone: 773-296-6024; $10-$25. Runs through: Dec. 19
In a reverse of the slogan "Christmas in July," The New Colony celebrates the Fourth of July in December with the world-premiere drama Pancake Breakfast. It's as if Tara Sissom's play tries to inject some summer heart into the winter by showing an uncomfortable Malloy family reunion through the entirely of an Independence Day in Bel Air, Md.
Developed through a series of improvisations with the actors (and based upon Sisson's own family's Fourth of July traditions), Pancake Breakfast certainly has plenty of built-in dramatic and character conflicts. There's divorced dad Bud (Steve Ratcliff) arriving with his much-younger performance artist wife, Darcy (Megan Johns); the smothering and embittered mother Eleanor (Susan Veronika Adler), who battles with her 21-year-old son with Asperger's Syndrome (Evan Linder as Randy); and gay cousin Bobby (Andrew Hopgood) who has never forgiven his mother (Arlene Malinowski as Lillian) for her bad reaction when he first came out to her.
But Sisson's ultimate execution of Pancake Breakfast comes off as far too languid in its pacing, so it's not as dramatically filling as it could be. Sisson's two-hour-long intermission-less drama also suffers from frequently oblique storytelling. It's initially confounding to discern everyone's relationship in the family (Jack McCabe's role as the wacky grandfather isn't so clear, since all the characters call him "Pop," leading to a mistaken assumption that he's Eleanor's second husband) while there aren't enough dramatic hallmarks heralding the play's ultimate fight that erupts almost out of nowhere.
That major conflict is struggling writer Beatrice (Thea Lux), who has taken a family leadership role in confronting her mother to let go of Randy so he can lead his own life. That dinner-table battle (in which Adler could ratchet her indignation and outrage up a bit more) shows what great dramatic potential there is in Pancake Breakfast, but the play is so cluttered with so many competing storylines and skimmed characterizations (particularly Gary Tiedemann as Bobby's nondescript lover, Gabriel) that it doesn't live up to its promise.
If the overall play of Pancake Breakfast disappoints, the production under the direction of Sean Kelly elicits many laughs and consistently good dramatic performances from the cast. Nick Siben's all-in-one multiple location set serves as a handsome playing area while sound designer Christopher Kriz helps create the right audible atmosphere filled with fizzing fireworks and Fourth of July Parade commotion.
Perhaps with Pancake Breakfast, Sissson was aiming to do a modern-day American take on a Chekhovian-style drama. It's certainly a noble attempt on Sisson and The New Colony's part to emphasize world-premiere works, but in this case Pancake Breakfast doesn't fully satisfy.