128 newyork| december9–22, 2019
ning or end of a relationship, the entire
company plays Chris at some point. Gen-
der doesn’t define Chris, nor does race.
Chronology does, though, so each itera-
tion of the character gets older and older.
We see Chris as a mother (Nidra Sous la
Terre) setting up a therapy practice, then
later on as a grandfather (Charles
Turner) hoping for a treat on a walk. Yet
the biography stays steady. Losses sus-
tained are losses forever; betrayals must
be mended; a painful back is always
there, and it’s only ever going to get
worse. Everything causes ripples of
effect: The early bereavements cut Chris
loose, so many paths are tried and aban-
doned, from medical school to psychia-
try to acting. Clearly, both Chris and the
play are interested in a progress of inves-
tigation from the body through the mind
and finally into the pretended self. The
play never so much as winks at the
supernatural, yet there’s still a sensation
of ... lifting up and off.
The new-Chris-every-scene setup is
quickly absorbed, but The Underlying
Chris is still immensely delicate. A few
things in Kenny Leon’s production treat
it roughly: The choreography of Arnulfo
Maldonado’s sets sliding back and forth
was still a little herky-jerky when I saw
it, so performers occasionally seemed
nervy as the show rattled around them.
Once inside a scene, though, Leon’s com-
pany works handsomely and is able to
create convincing portraits in only a few
strokes. Everyone does a lovely job, but
Overshown’s weary, slightly punchy
approach is particularly effective, as is
Sous la Terre’s laughing warmth.
In a time gone by, a drama that dealt
with a person’s life from cradle to grave
would have been a morality play with
choices guiding the soul closer or farther
from God. The Underlying Chris is an
anxious parent’s play, not a religious one,
concerned as it is with the way our
Everyperson Chris is buffeted and
changed by every accident and careless
gesture. Why, oh why, did that father
ever fly that little baby around the room?
But there’s still a certain spiritual orga-
nization to the play, the faintest echo of
the pulpit. When death inevitably comes
(spoiler! It comes for us all), we see the
funeral. Characters, played by all the
many physical bodies we have known as
Chris, stand around in mourning. We,
though, remember that Chris is in all of
them. Eno, in a clever exchange, has used
the specific way that theater asks us to
suspend belief to create belief. Some-
thing is everlasting after all.
Here endeth the lesson. ■World’s Finest Eye Creama “selections” product in Oprah magazineAirbrushEyeCreamreduces
puffinessrightaway,especiallywhen
cold.Promotesnewcollagenwhich
reduces finelinesandwrinkles.Reduces
darkcircles,issoothing,hydratingand
promotesa youthfulhealthyglow!Hypo-allergenicandnaturalcontaining
emuoil serum,greenteaextract,aloevera,
collagenandelastin.Useam&pmforbestresultsandthejarwill
lastabout3 months!Reg $ 68Now only $54.^40Use 20% discount code: APPLE at
http://www.dremu.com
or call 800-542-0026 and get free shipping.
Open 7 DaysLa Mer Eye Balm @ $200
Shiseido Solution LX @ $130
La Prairie Swiss @ $240Compare to:AIRBRUSH
Eye Refining Treatment