How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
Depending on the moment, "The Power of Birds" can soar high or fall to the ground. Robin Rice Lichtig's play tells the story of a family plagued by ridiculous problems, either too cliche to be interesting or too absurd to be moving. But if the writing doesn't make you sit up in your seat, the audiovisual style will.
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An avid bird-watcher father (Jay Potter) abandons his family to follow the birds' migration. The mother (Annie McGovern) moves to a different state with her 12-year-old fraternal twins and recently widowed mother-in-law. Her daughter (Emma Galvin) does not adjust well to this move and develops serious separation anxiety from living without her father; her son (Noah Galvin), who is extremely gifted and the apple of his mother's eye, has trouble fitting in at the new school and resorts to dealing marijuana.
The selfish grandmother (Margot Avery) only has one concern: watching the sunset by herself so she and her late husband can sexually reconnect. This is a problem in the new house they live in, where not one window faces west. The mother thinks she can fix all these problems by ignoring the fact that her husband left her for a bunch of birds, and finally learning how to cook. Of course, it's not so easy.
The acting is sometimes sub-par, but each individual has his own strengths. Galvin carries the show. His cool-kid affectations, exaggerated facial expressions and humorous lines enliven a show that sometimes takes itself too seriously.
Even though the cast only consists of five people working in a small space, they're able to pull it off under Elizabeth Bunnell's compelling direction. In the opening scene, cast members sit on chairs upstage, out of focus. They each make different noises: stomping feet, snapping fingers and smacking lips. The layering of these different rhythms on top of pre-recorded sounds produces the impression of a rainstorm in the middle of a forest.
The show lacks a running crew, but this only makes the scene changes more interesting. Every new scene looks unique, even though the same props are repositioned and used throughout.
Although it's a pretty run-of-the-mill dysfunctional family drama, visually and aurally this show is a must-see.
"The Power of Birds" is playing at the Milagro Theater (107 Suffolk St.) through March 13. Tickets ($18) can be purchased through brownpapertickets.com or by calling 800.838.3006.
