The Helen Hayes Theatre - Monday July 2nd, 2018

I thought I knew what to expect from a play called Straight White Men but when I saw that the play was written by Young Jean Lee, a Korean-American female playwright, and directed by Anna D. Shapiro, a female director, all my expectations suddenly dissolved into excitement and curiosity. (It's also worth it to mention that this is the first time the work of an Asian-American woman is being performed on Broadway).

When I wandered into the lobby of the Helen Hayes Theatre, I could hear a pulsing beat of club-like music. As I made my way up the stairs and into the theatre the music got progressively louder until I actually did feel like I was in a club (I even danced my way to the usher because I couldn't help myself.) The music was matched with colourful disco lighting and a shimmery silver curtain. I definitely thought this play was going to start in a strip-club or something. It made sense: straight white men, strip club. Some audience members, like me, were having fun with this unexpected pre-show but others, namely the older patrons, were just very confused and mildly irritated, so much so that there was someone dressed in a funky coveralls handing out earplugs for those who weren't comfortable with the decibel level. When I read my Playbill, I saw that the person handing out the earplugs was in fact an actor in the show, Ty Defoe. Shortly after this realization, Ty and another person in a matching costume took to the stage and addressed us, the audience, directly. They introduced themselves: Ty Defoe and Kate Bornstein, although in the Playbill, their characters are listed as "Person in Charge". They briefly explain their gender identities (Ty as two-spirit; Kate as non-binary), comically poke fun at the notion of discomfort in a place audience members are used to feeling comfortable and, with a wave of their arm, begin the play. The shimmery curtain goes up and we see a set that looks like a basic family room, except there is a wood frame around the set with a gold name plate on the bottom that said the title of the play, making it look like a life-sized diorama or a museum display. Again, my expectations were put into question. The People in Charge place the Straight White Men in their places on the set, the first being the star-draw, Armie Hammer so his big cheer from the young women in the audience can get out of the way right off the bat. They get set and the real play begins.

We find ourselves witnessing a family Christmastime that consist of a father and his three adult sons. We learn the mother has died within the last few years, the eldest son, Matt (Paul Schneider), lives at home with his father (very recently re-cast by Denis Arndt, but was played by Stephen Payne at this performance), the middle son, Jake (Josh Charles) is recently divorced and the youngest son, Drew (Armie Hammer) has found success in teaching at a college. Things slowly unravel and get revealed as their personalities and philosophies on life clash and conversations about and alluding to privilege take place (including a crafty re-make of Monopoly called 'Privilege', which two of the brothers play for a brief moment). There's lots of play-fighting, confrontations and testosterone, making the absence of female energy very apparent, which is perhaps is part of the point. I'm sure a question most people want answered is: how was Armie Hammer? You know, he was pretty good. We know he's a great actor, so I wasn't going to be disappointed with that, although I will say, in the particularly dramatic moments, he resorted to a more film style of acting (performing from the shoulders up). He wasn't "in his body" in the way that you need to be on stage, which to me, made for a little bit of disconnect. The show is still in previews and the physicality may come with the comfort of being on stage. Josh Charles on the other hand felt like he was right at home. He was devilish and funny (like most roles I have seen him play on TV) but had some moments of tenderness that changed how I saw this guy by the end. None of these characters are particularly likeable but I think that's the point. The title of the play is almost scrutinizing and these characters are set up to "fail" just based on that and have to work extra hard to redeem themselves.

Many aspects of the play were very performative, which had me thinking that there's no way this is real but the frame around the set was a good reminder that this play isn't realistic nor is it meant to be. The presence of that frame made me think that perhaps this play takes place some time in the future, when gender and race become obsolete. The idea of the People in Charge had me thinking that at this at this point in the future, we have to demonstrate this kind of person and the "challenges" the Straight White Man faced in another time. That was the only thing that could tie all the aspects of this play together in a clean package since the presence of the People in Charge and the actual play with the Straight White Men were completely disconnected. This play ultimately left me with a lot of questions, with the big question being what brought Young Jean Lee write this piece and make this her story to tell?