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Anthony Edwards, Susannah Flood in The Counter
Dynamic, superb performances by Anthony Edwards and Susannah Flood lift Meghan Kennedy’s sharp, beautifully spare dramedy The Counter, presented in a debut by Roundabout Theatre Company. Acutely directed by David Cromer with a minimalist set focusing on the counter at a diner, the actors convey a profound, nurturing relationship. Through Kennedy’s well crafted, humorous dialogue and short scenes, Paul (Edwards), and Katie (Flood), develop a bond over secrets. In doing this, they expose earlier lies of omission. The beauty of the play’s momentum strikes us as we watch events unfold with unexpected twists that conclude with uncertainty and delight.
Kennedy’s characters, ordinary, yet extraordinarily relatable, reside in a small town in upstate New York. A regular customer who comes in for the fine coffee Katie makes, the recently retired Paul seems lost. His apparent opposite, the young Katie, had moved from the city, and has an apartment she funds with her waitress job. Though they don’t know each other beyond small talk when the play opens, their loose familiarity suggests a natural, organic comfort. But the May-December age gulf may not hold too much promise. Kennedy never allows any romance between these two to catch fire. Instead, something deeper and more soulful occurs.
Friends, Secrets
As Katie and Paul humorously exchange mild barbs, Paul intimates he needs a friend and suggests Katie may need one too. Through brief scenes we discover Paul’s kindly, perceptive nature and Katie’s ability to listen and desire to help. Thus, she accepts Paul’s invitation to share secrets like a friend. However, finding out his motivation tries her humanity. As he presents a bottle of poison he got on the “dark web,” he makes an untoward suggestion: that she put some in his coffee when he least expects it. That way, his intention will solidify, but he won’t know when.
Of course, Katie’s shock and refusal make sense from Kennedy’s well drawn characterization of Katie. His request appalls her and she regrets accepting his friendship.
Keeping the Tone Light
The director and actors keep the tone lightly humorous, mining the irony of the situation. Matters of life and death transpire over a counter in a diner. More commonly, it might be in a bar. However, no alcohol muddies the straight talk. We perceive Paul’s seriousness and question why he doesn’t kill himself without involving Katie. Clearly, Paul’s rationality that we’ve witnessed in the first part of the play indicates a glacier exists underneath the icy tip we’ve seen with his request.
Switching topics, Paul draws Katie out to share her secret. Katie begins at the benign tip of what will be a glacier by the play’s conclusion. On her voicemail she retains over 25 messages, filling the capacity and thus closing off communication, but with whom and why?
Beginning with simple threads, the play unspools Paul and Katie’s desires related to the secrets they’ve divulged to each other. We understand the poignance of Katie’s move from the city to upstate and why she contentedly lives day to day with a simple job in a small apartment. Also, we discover the pain Paul experienced as caretaker for his mother and brother.
Powerful Acting Snares Our Sympathy
Edwards powerfully conveys Paul’s experiences watching his brother demeaned by dementia and dissolving into poverty, gaining Katie’s empathy and ours. Not only has he made a justification for his need for the poison, he nearly sways us and Katie to his rationale. Kennedy intimates the cruelties of the underfunded healthcare system that depletes humanity and fosters an unsustainable old age. And she ties these concepts in with Katie’s situation because Katie also had issues with a medical condition.
Yet once again, the playwright throws in twists to keep us engaged and off balance. Thanks to the actors’ spot-on, terrific authenticity and Cromer’s sense of pacing and nuance, this excellent production soars.
Here the creative team’s minimalism works well with the spare dialogue and thematic clarity to convey the need for deeper connections and humanity that touch our hearts. Kudos to Walt Spangler’s set design, Sarah Laux’s costume design, Stacey Derosier’s lighting design, and Christopher Darbassie’s sound design.
Don’t miss this one. The Counter is at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 W 46th St), NYC. Tickets are available online.
