Playwright: Richard Nelson. At: TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave. Tickets: 773-281-8463; www.timelinetheatre.com; $39-$52. Runs through: April 19
Richard Nelson's witty works sport plenty of theatricality, but his early plays were so politically insistent and cerebral that they lacked emotional warmth. Maybe Nelson had a midlife crisis ( he's 64 ), but his writing has changed in the last 15 years. Now he creates empathetic characters, as in his Apple Family Plays which focus on three generations of an extended family, centered in Rhinebeck, New Yorka picturesque, historic and generally-affluent Hudson River Valley town.
The four plays are set at annual family get-togethers on election night 2010, one year later, then election morning 2012 and finally a year after that. TimeLine is presenting the two Election Day plays, respectively titled That Hopey Changey Thing and Sorry. Each runs 95-110 minutes, and Nelson spends a good hour with careful character exposition beforewham!hitting you with the politics.
The middle-aged Apple siblings are single schoolteacher Barbara ( Janet Ulrich Brooks ), the eldest, married school teacher Marian ( Juliet Hart ), divorced writer Jane ( Michelle Moe ) and bro Richard ( David Parkes ), a lawyer for New York State. There's also old, ailing and amnesiac Uncle Benjamin ( Mike Nussbaum ), a retired successful actor, and Jane's younger live-in boyfriend, Tim ( PJ Powers, seen only in That Hopey Changey Thing ). These players are absolutely impeccable under Louis Contey's direction, especially Nussbaum whoat 90+ yearsagain proves himself a living treasure of American Theater, so sure, relaxed and charming is his understated delivery. All six are subtle and utterly truthful as they jab and spat, accuse and reunite as siblings will, relaxing comfortably in Brian Sidney Bembridge's warm, simple yet elegant traditional-style dining room set. Don't miss this delicious acting, whatever your politics.
Speaking of which, the longtime liberal Apples challenge some of their own ideas in That Hopey Changey Thing, especially when Richard reveals he's accepted a job at a well-known Republican law firm. For example, Richard notes that the Left's scorn of Sarah Palin is what made her a hero to the Right. "I'm not defending Sarah Palin," he says, "I'm criticizing us." Marian sees unemployment as 2010's central issue. She says, "If people had jobs, everything would be different," a statement which the 2014 election proved untrue. They are, of course, as American as you-know-what pie, and the family name is one of Nelson's jokes.
The companion play, Sorry, is set on Election Day 2012. Much water has gone over the dam: Richard may return to government law, Marian's teenage daughter has killed herself, Jane's book remains unpublished, Uncle Benjamin has bouts of sometimes-threatening dementia and is moving to a nursing home. Barbara, his longtime caretaker, is torn apart by the decision. The Apples are weary and so is their political take on gridlock and an uninspiring Obama, described as "the disappointment you have in a long-term relationship." Obama will have their vote but without enthusiasm. The passions of Sorry are personal, not political. It's a contemplative play in which the rapid passage of time is keenly felt, and characters frequently say, "I remember..."