What I liked
Brilliantly-acted wallow in cleverly-written morass of wasted (contemporary) lives.
What I didn't like
Very heavy on the “F” word, for those more squeamish than I.
My overall impression
A century and more after Gorky’s THE LOWER DEPTHS here’s its American cousin, an exhausting wallow in the pain of wasted lives, expertly engineered and even leavened with laughs. The “F” word flows as “trippingly on the tongue” as Elizabethan English did for Shakespeare’s audience, so if the title makes you uncomfortable this ISN’T the play for you! But is there a better ensemble cast (3m/2f) in this entire Fringe season? (With 375 options, who can tell?) The acting is breath-taking (under the unerring eye of Director Tony Gatto, I’m sure), anchored by Jorge-Luis Pallo and Fayna Sanchez as the not-so-innocents, Nelson Delrosario, the serpent in their Garden of Hell, plus Libby Ewing (who left the audience cheering after her mid-show monologue) and Felipe Figueroa (whose unique character brightens the gloom from time to time). Broadway bestowed several Tony nominations six years ago but these brilliant (and brilliantly-cast) actors must be the equal of the originals!
