Susan Granger’s review of “Grief Camp” (Off-Broadway: Linda Gross Theater at Atlantic Theater Company)
Playwright Eliya Smith is a new theatrical voice whose avant-garde works will be worth watching. Marked by an episodic naturalism, her “Grief Camp” recently opened at the Linda Gross Theater at the Atlantic Theater Company.
It begins in the pre-dawn darkness inside a rustic cabin that’s part of a Gen-Z co-ed summer camp in Hurt, Virginia, as its inhabitants are summoned to breakfast by Rocky’s (Danny Wolohan) cheerful announcements on the P.A. system.
But the six recently awakened teenagers aren’t your usual crowd. Each is suffering a loss, either of a sibling or parents. Over a period of 15 days, we come to know the four girls and two boys through their many disconnected, distracted yet self-revelatory encounters.
Cade (Jack Di Falco) is their RA (resident assistant); he’s an older alum of the camp and somewhat in charge of his bunkmates’ structured interaction. Judging by her provocative, sexually-tinged monologue involving menstrual blood, Olivia (Renee-Nicole Powell) seemingly has an uncomfortable connection with Cade.
Olivia’s sister Esther (Lark White) chatters about beauty with her seemingly attached friend Luna (Grace Brennan), and there’s Blue (Maaika Laanstra-Corn), who has written a surreal drama and asks for feedback, noting: “I’d prefer if you kept it sort of granular.”
Sadly, less is known about the boys – Bard (Arjun Athalye) and Gideon (Dominic Gross) – whose parts seem underwritten. Aside from vocals from Danny, the only other adult is (Alden Harris-McCoy) who strums the guitar on an outside porch.
While the eerie characters she has created are certainly bereaved, Eliya Smith leaves perhaps too much unsaid, never dwelling on morbid details, demanding a catharsis or inflicting a moral lesson.
Director Lee Waters makes the most of Louisa Thompson’s cozy, cluttered set, enhanced by Isabella Byrd’s subtle lighting, Oana Botez’s costumes, Bray Poor’s sounds and Jeremy Chernick’s ‘special effects’ rain.
Running 1 hour, 40 minutes with no intermission, “Grief Camp” plays at the Linda Gross Theater at the Atlantic Theater Company (330 West 20th Street) through May 11. For tickets, call 646-452-2220 or atlantictheater.org.