Photos by David A. Lee
Dezart Performs is currently presenting Heidi Schreck’s “Grand Concourse,” a sometimes funny but always thought-provoking play about faith; having it, losing it and trying to find it.
The play is set in the kitchen of a Bronx church which serves meals to the needy and is located just off the Grand Concourse, a major street that runs through the borough. Shelley (Eliza Newman) is the nun who runs the soup kitchen. But the strength of her faith is on a serious decline leading her to question her role in life. She has decided to no longer wear her habit and, in fact, is contemplating leaving the church. Working with her in the kitchen is Oscar (Chris Carranza), who also functions as custodian and handy-man for the church. Nineteen-year-old Emma (Tia Laulusa) arrives and quickly admits to being in treatment for cancer. She came to the church looking to help and to be near people who are doing good. She winds up being very near to Oscar, who despite having a steady girlfriend, surrenders to Emma’s seductions; a decision he quickly regrets. It soon becomes clear that she is not exactly who or what she says she is. One thing becomes blatantly clear; she is wrestling with some serious psychological issues and that affects everyone working with her. Also on hand is Frog (E.M. Davis), a young homeless man who is a regular visitor to the soup kitchen. Because she believes he has a chance for a decent future, Shelley helps him to get a job. But, being damaged people they all continue to do damage, leaving the others (most notably Shelley) to reach the point where personal decisions regarding faith and trust need to be made.
Under the excellent direction of Michael Shaw, each character comes totally to life. Schreck’s script gives ample time for each character to develop as layer after layer is revealed. Many of the problems they face are recognizable as things most of us have confronted at one point or another in our own lives. This in turn allows the audience to empathize with the characters and they become people about whom we care… and care we do! Ms. Laulusa’s Emma remains entertainingly enigmatic, slowly letting us and the other three characters see her truth that she had worked so hard to hide. But it is Ms. Newman’s performance as Shelley that really tugged at my heartstrings. She gives a strength to Shelley that made her stiff-upper-lip attitude totally believable. When it just becomes too much for her to keep in, one could feel the anguish and pain that she was experiencing. In the final scene with Emma, she looks at her with witheringly icy stares and, calmly gives her a speech so filled with hate and anger that it was twice as damaging then if she had yelled and screamed. It was a truly powerful moment, beautifully executed.
A special nod must be given to Jimmy Cuomo, whose set is, appropriately, nothing short of a miracle. In the theatre’s relatively small stage space, he has masterfully created what appears to be a rather large and solid church kitchen reminiscent of basement kitchens back East, that looks capable of handling dinner for one hundred!
This is one of Heidi Schreck’s earliest plays and is not quite as polished as some of her later works, such as “What the Constitution Means to Me.” A few scenes are very short or feel like they end abruptly and, once or twice, the flow from one scene to the next is a bit rocky. But what it does have is her excellent ear for naturalistic dialogue, some highly interesting issues raised throughout the play and a totally satisfying and emotionally powerful ending.
Dezart Performs’ production of “Grand Concourse” plays through March 9, 2025 at the Pearl McManus Theatre. For tickets and further information visit their website at www.DezartPerforms.org.