Review: TAKEDOWN at Theater For The New City

There aren’t many shows I’ve been asked to review for which I’ve read the audience’s opinions before even forming one of my own. Well, I should say before I had a chance to properly write down all of the positive thoughts already brewing in my mind. Such a performance is one that theatergoers are not only excited to attend, but subsequently eager enough to share their reactions to a very raw and emotional few hours well spent.

Words like “phenomenal” and “moving” are ubiquitous in their description of Claude Solnik’s new drama, Takedown. Others consider it one of the best shows they’ve seen, a true theatrical gem in both story and the choosing of those actors ordained to tell it. Recently concluding performance at the East Village’s Theater for the New City, Takedown is a beautifully written drama that shows how easily a person can fall after a great loss, and the beauty of finding life again amidst the ashes of tragedy which surround them. 

At the risk of sounding like a broken record with each of Solnik’s shows I review, it deserves to be said yet again how captivating these performances are - and this time I can acknowledge the fact that his audience feels the same way. He is a triple threat among playwrights: versatile in the stories he writes (whether they happen to be dramatic or quite funny), pinpointing the perfect words with which to tell them and perpetually able to cast actors who bring these plays to the pinnacle of the life they deserve. He is able to take the microcosm that is his characters’ worlds and transform them into something so significant, so poignant that it leaves a lasting mark on those who see one of his stories unfold from beginning to end. I’ve always thought that his plays offered just the right amount of plot to intrigue those who watch to want more; from there, unbridled and unexpected emotion take hold of your attention and doesn’t let it go.

Takedown is the perfect embodiment of what a great play should be - a play that doesn’t just tell, but shows - and falls right along the lines of something you can expect here: another show that rightfully deserves the accolades it has thus received. 

Written by Solnik, directed by J.D. Glickman and presented by Executive Artistic Director Crystal Field, Takedown draws from larger world issues yet brings focus to a single family, devastated by the recent loss of a loved one. Not necessarily a commentary on issues like drug abuse and the fatalities of fentanyl, the play instead takes what it needs from our current reality and molds it into a more intimate form - one which allows us a glimpse of understanding, of a closer look into something some may already be familiar with, while others not so. It brings us into the lives of a father and son who, alongside those closest to them, must make sense of their lives in the aftermath of a tragedy - a loss that then has further ramifications to bestow.

An already tense and unstable family dynamic is tested even further when this loss becomes almost sacrificial - one who perishes in order for what remains to become stronger because of it. Amidst constantly shifting emotions and at times grandiose attempts to make things better, these characters navigate their way around not only the uncertainty of what the future holds, but also current beliefs turned falsehoods that force them to reevaluate their present. 

Takedown brings the audience into the lives of six characters, whose nerves are raw after the death of a beloved wife and mother. A woman whose drug addiction turned fatal due to fentanyl, she leaves behind a family wrought with a newfound grief much too recent to have yet been processed. Moments of sadness are intertwined with those of unrelenting anger directed at the man who laced her drugs, leading to her demise. All this is exacerbated by the powerlessness felt amongst those she left behind - a sense of helplessness that makes any (and especially this) situation that much worse.

In the aftermath of death, Noah joins his school’s wrestling team, while his dad Lucas tries to remain the responsible adult amidst the ebb and flow of both anger and hope. Noah finds support in his close friend Colin and girlfriend Molly, while Lucas is consoled by his mother Connie and Sylvie (his late wife’s best friend). In their attempts to move on, father and son are always one fight short of losing their carefully built resolve - one moment shy of breaking down. The heartbreak of this show lies in the fact that these characters are cognizant of how they suffer and completely aware of their attempts to move on, but walk a thin line between continuing as they were and starting completely afresh. And in that do we find the rollercoaster that is suffering: one moment of happiness followed by a mood that all but plummets in the next. Watching these characters suffer is almost like watching them overcome an illness, yet one no doctor can help cure. 

In the end, Takedown doles its audience an unexpected crash - ultimately a moment of fate that makes us question so much about our existence and why things happen as they do. Characters who have dealt with their fleeing sense of happiness are dealt the reality of a life built up, only to have it fall and crumble once again. Loss lends itself to the testament of faith that life will get better, and with that does Takedown bring such a powerful (even hopeful) realization that we may fall a hundred times, but it doesn't mean redemption can't be found again.

Takedown is not only another display of Solnik’s talent, but also that of how a truly wonderful cast can bring an already poignant story to life. I brought a guest to see this show with me, and she was in awe of this small but incredibly mighty cast; she was even in tears towards the play’s end, and I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment.

This cast, made up of JD Glickman as Lucas, Xander Furman as Noah, Susan Neuffer as Connie, Robyn Ross as Sylvie, Christopher W. Clayton as Colin and Hannah Brudnock as Molly, were absolutely and undeniably stellar. To say they were convincing in their respective roles is an understatement - what a truly talented group of people were assembled on that stage. The turbulent relationship between Glickman and Furman, in particular, was so beautiful to watch because of how much of their pain the audience shared in. When they were happy, we reveled in their ability to move forward and were right there with them; when they were on the brink of disaster, we continually feared for their wellbeing. While everyone on that stage did a commendable job, watching the pull and tug of their relationship was truly something else - a prime example of what great theater ought to look like.

Joining this talented cast behind the scenes were Stage Manager Danielle Naheel Mullen and Lighting Designer Marsh Shugart (who never fails to add the perfect effect to the shows he is a part of). 

Takedown recently concluded its run at Theater for the New City (located at 155 1st Avenue) on October 1st. TNC presents 30-40 shows annually, all new American works that gives playwrights a chance to showcase their ideas without the usual theatrical limitations. They also have numerous community outreach programs, which aim to enrich the lives of neighborhood people and share the joys of live theater; these include events and classes for both children and adults. To learn more about TNC’s upcoming productions and happenings, please click here.