Back Stage, NY
April 27 2005
Beast on the Moon
Reviewed By Harry Forbes
“Beast on the Moon”
Presented by David Grillo & Matt Salinger, casting by Vince Liebhart,
at the Century Center for the Performing Arts, 111 E. 15 St., NYC.
Opened April 27 for an open run.
You won’t find more-affecting performances than those of Omar
Metwally and Lena Georgas in Richard Kalinoski’s extraordinary play
— finely directed by Larry Moss — about an immigrant couple in 1921
Milwaukee.
Both survivors of the horrific Armenian genocide, Aram and Seta are
newlyweds. He, like his father, is a photographer; she’s his
15-year-old mail-order bride. Both are orphans. Aram, though young,
is a stern traditionalist, hell-bent on having a family to replace
the one he’s lost. Seta, to Aram’s bitter disappointment, remains
barren.
A coldness descends on Aram until Seta can take it no longer. She
shows her mettle in the play’s most telling scene when she turns her
back on him at dinner, emanating such alarming silence that Aram must
practically grovel to win her back.
In the second act, a tough little orphan boy, befriended by Seta,
enters their lives, a catalyst that will bring them closer together.
The Turkish slaughter of the Armenians — still a sore spot for the
Turkish government, which thwarted a German production — is
backstory that never overwhelms the domestic narrative. And the
overall themes are healing and reconciliation.
Georgas radiates irrepressible optimism and strength of character
beneath a girlish exterior; Metwally’s stubborn pride masks great
vulnerability. Whether conveying volumes in their silence or letting
long-submerged emotions cut loose, they are simply magnificent.
Matthew Borish as a sort of Dead End street kid and Louis Zorich in
the smallish part of the narrator are fine.
Neil Patel’s simple set — the couple’s flat — effectively captures
the milieu; ditto Anita Yavich’s period costumes. And David Lander’s
lighting and Peter Fitzgerald’s sound design help delineate the
over-the-years passage of time.
The play has garnered worldwide acclaim. New York was long overdue.
Moss’ first-class production, with its heart-stopping leads, was
worth the wait.