Marvel a marvel in diffuse 'Book of Grace' in NY

[March 18, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Elizabeth Marvel is one of those chameleon-like stage actresses fiercely committed to character. Whatever the play -- from "A Streetcar Named Desire" off-Broadway to "Top Girls" on Broadway -- she transforms herself, each portrait totally different and totally credible.

And now in "The Book of Grace," Suzan-Lori Parks' diffuse, disappointing look at a dysfunctional family's major meltdown, she pulls off something quite difficult to achieve. In the production, which opened Wednesday at the Public Theater off-Broadway, she makes a good person (the title character) theatrically compelling.

Grace, who works as a waitress in a diner, is not a total saint, mind you. She does manage, in a moment of passion, to sleep with her stepson, but there's a reason. Her marriage to a troubled U.S. border patrol guard is barren and unpleasant.

Grace finds happiness in writing, bits and pieces of prose that define her sunny outlook despite a tense, unhappy domestic life. Just watch Marvel's face as Grace talks about her homemade book. There's joy there. And it immediately gives you a shorthand peek into this tenderhearted woman -- information that complements what the author herself has provided about Grace, the play's most fully realized character.

Parks' drama is arranged as if it were sections of Grace's book, which, she explains, is about "the evidence of good things." Chapter titles appear on a screen. They give the play, directed by James Macdonald, a choppy momentum as it works its way toward an explosive, melodramatic finale.

Unfortunately, the play's other two characters are not nearly as well defined, and one of them, Grace's belligerent husband, is stereotypical as well.

"Borders and fences, they say it all without saying a word: That is yours, and this is mine," says the man, ominously named Vet, who has villain written all over him.

What little plot "The Book of Grace" possesses concerns the preparations for an awards ceremony. Vet, portrayed with a threatening gruffness by John Doman, is to be honored for his work on the border in this unnamed town, which seems to be located somewhere in the southwestern United States.

Before the ceremony, Buddy, Vet's son from a first marriage, arrives after a long absence. A drifter, who was once in the military, he's come home for a reconciliation of sorts. The relationship between the two men is cautious, almost uneasy, with the threat of violence and a hint of incest lurking just below the surface.

Amari Cheatom plays the enigmatic Buddy with the right degree of ambiguity. His real reason for this homecoming becomes apparent before too long, and his actions could be ripped right from today's more violent headlines.

"The Book of Grace" feels scattered, not nearly as tightly focused as Parks' other works such as "Topdog/Underdog" and "In the Blood." If it weren't for Marvel's command of the stage, "The Book of Grace" would be an even thinner evening of theater.

[Associated Press; By MICHAEL KUCHWARA]

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