Review: 'God of Carnage' at Community Theatre at Woodbury

Children consume and fracture our lives. Children drag us towards disaster. It's unavoidable. - Yasmina Reza in 'God of Carnage'

Woodbury, CT - ‘God of Carnage’ is a play written by Yasmina Reza that was translated from the French by Christopher Hampton. It tells the story of two sets of millennial parents trying to solve the problem of an injury inflicted upon one of the couple’s sons by the son of the other couple. This smartly written piece can be as intense as the title would suggest but the ninety minutes presented without intermission is not without some moments of levity. The production by the Community Theatre at Woodbury under the insightful direction of Sarah Robards is enjoyable on so many levels.

Ms. Robards (director of CTAW’s ‘New York,’ ‘The Spitfire Grill’) notes correctly that at the beginning of the play one would expect that these four well-educated and successful individuals should be able to quickly forge a reasonable solution to the incident and mend their offspring’s relationship. What ensues is a complete unraveling of all four of these well-drawn characters as deeper issues in both of the marriages come to light. The director writes in her notes: ‘In ‘God of Carnage,’ civilized attitudes and demeanors are stripped away, and with many lines crossed, the grown-ups capacity for reasonableness disintegrates into ill-mannered, childish behaviors.” Thankfully, the two eleven-year old boys never appear to witness these meltdowns laced with mature language.

The most interesting set was decorated with the paintings of Matt Woods, the featured artist for this production. The pieces of the CTAW featured artist are usually displayed on the walls of the house, but Mr. Wood’s works of art became an essential part of the living room set. The director drew an imaginary line down the middle of the room and physically the couples mostly stayed on their respective sides. However, it was interesting to watch the four adults change sides intellectually and form different alliances as the play progressed. Kudos to Ms. Robards on both her set design and blocking choices, and for consulting with Kate Robards on the costume choices.

The CTAW cast formed a tight ensemble of four that made this production as strong as it could be. Anthony Contento of Woodbury took on the part of the caustic, cell-phone-obsessed lawyer Alan Raleigh. Mr. Contento marks his fourth CTAW production in this role, but I most remember his performance as Max in ‘Bent’ at the Brookfield Theatre for the Arts. This actor brought the same intensity to this role of a detached husband and father.

Marnie D’Uva, who played Truvy in CTAW’s ‘Steel Magnolias,’ returns to this stage to play Anthony’s wife Annette in what she deems “this brilliant dark comedy.” The professional Annette is in (her husband’s) wealth management and suffers from onstage panic attacks and stomach issues. Ms. D’Uva did very well with all that the role required.

Erica Dorio was perfectly cast in this play that she writes has been on her bucket list since its Broadway premiere in 2009. Her strong acting ability is so apparent in her fifth production with CTAW. She was able to shine in the role of Veronica Novak, the world crusader mom/writer whose son’s teeth and beloved coffee table book will never be the same.

As her husband Michael, Tom Mendicino of Southbury made his first appearance at CTAW with his return to the stage after more than 20 years. He welcomed the opportunity to work with an ensemble cast on what he called this “anti Pinter play,” meaning that it is about the exceptions in our lives. His conversations with his unwell mother on his landline phone were enlightening.

After the performance, the four actors and director are scheduled to participate in an audience talk-back facilitated by the producer Kris Geddes of Woodbury. On opening night, the cast managed to take a very short break after their intense ninety minutes onstage and gamely answered the questions of the audience.

This thought-provoking production of ‘God of Carnage’ runs on the smallish stage of the Woodbury Historic Town Hall through January 28. Next up for CTAW will be a showcase of contemporary one-acts followed by their season closer, ‘Calendar Girls’ directed by Maureen Denver.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and she posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417