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John Leonard and Catherine Maloney in "God of Carnage," which opens this week at the Southampton Cultural Center.[/caption]
By Dawn Watson
When “God of Carnage” came to Broadway in 2009, it was already a huge hit.
Authored by French-born playwright Yasmina Reza, who had recently scored with audiences and critics alike with her award-winning “Art” a few years prior, the acclaimed “Carnage” had already played to packed houses in Europe. Additionally, it earned the Nestroy-Theatreprize for Best German Language performance during its premiere season in Zurich and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy for its London debut. Theatergoers couldn’t get enough of the farcical examination of brutality cloaked by a thin veneer of manners.
The award-winning production premiered on Broadway with a star-studded cast, which included James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis. That year, it went on to win Best Play at the 2009 Tony Awards.
Originally written in French as “Le Dieu du Carnage” in 2006, and later reimagined slightly for American audiences, the hit show about bad behavior is now staging at the Southampton Cultural Center through Sunday, October 30. The production, directed by Michael Disher, stars Edward Kassar, John Leonard, Catherine Maloney and Frances Sherman.
As the title suggests, the comedy-laced drama—set around the meeting of two pairs of parents who have gathered together to discuss the appropriate course of action after their two 11-year-old boys get into a physical playground confrontation—is most definitely not about getting along. By the end of the 90-minute play, none of the four characters will have escaped unscathed.
The name of the show could just as well be “Everybody Behaves Badly,” as the drama demonstrates just how quickly the thin veneer of manners and civility erodes upon the slightest provocation, replaced nearly immediately by brutality in one form or another. In “Carnage,” one negative action very quickly leads to multiple and increasingly worse ones. It’s perhaps this singular point that has stirred up so much passion in audiences worldwide.
In short, “God of Carnage” is the equivalent of train wreck TV, but on the higher and more rarified plane of the theatrical stage—think “Sense and Sensibility” meets “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf.” In addition to providing the opportunity for everyone to just let themselves off the hook when they act like jerks, the stage play also provides plenty of meaty opportunities for the actors to flex their dramatic muscles.
“Were you hoping for a glimpse of universal harmony?” asks obnoxious pharmaceutical company executive Alan, played by Mr. Leonard in this production, in between inconsiderately taking numerous cell phone calls about his company’s problem drug while meeting to discuss his child’s violent behavior. In his opinion, attacking someone with a stick is a rite of passage for boys. “I believe in the God of Carnage. He has ruled uninterruptedly since the dawn of time.”
Who knew that nice guy John Leonard (who many readers know from his community efforts and from his day job of Sag Harbor Gym manager) could be such a jerk? His rude phone antics get better and better as the play evolves.
His wealth manager wife, Annette, played by Ms. Sherman vehemently (and viscerally) disagrees. Though in her mind, the chain reaction that spirals out of control from the original action equals a zero sum equation. Accountability be damned when the bully, her son, is “provoked” into hitting another child, putting him on equal footing with the victim.
“There’s wrongs on both sides,” she says in between projectile vomiting all over her host’s living room and throwing their possessions at them.
This gag, quite literally, seems to be the high point of the show for audiences worldwide. Ms. Sherman’s incredibly realistic upchucking scene does not disappoint.
Michael, played by Mr. Kassar, is a home fixtures salesman who appears to be an evolved and sensitive everyman. But he’s happy to let his mask slip to reveal that he’s a brute just under surface.
“You want to try to pass me off as a liberal, but I can't keep this bullshit up any more,” he exclaims. “I am not a member of polite society. What I am and always have been, is a fucking Neanderthal.”
Mr. Kassar’s treatment of this character is the most full-formed of the quartet. His command and control of the stage serves both him and his fellow actors well.
And just because his do-gooder wife, Veronica, played by Ms. Maloney, writes about the tragedies in Darfur, she proves that she’s not as above it all as she thinks. Jumping right into the roiling muck of ugliness, she verbally and physically assaults both her guests and her husband before realizing, “this is going to end badly.”
This character’s journey is perhaps the most enlightening, as Ms. Maloney ably demonstrates. Everyone wants to think that they’re a decent person, after all. Especially when they realize that they aren’t quite as good as they’ve always thought themselves to be.
“God of Carnage” stages at the Southampton Cultural Center through Sunday, October 30. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $22 for adults and $12 for students under 21, with ID required. Dinner/Theatre packages are available for certain performances. Visit for www.scc-arts.org or call (631) 287-4377 for reservations and additional information.
gavinmenu on Oct 19, 2016