THE BASICS: THE ALEPH COMPLEX, a play by Deborah Yarchun, directed by Robyn Lee Horn, presented by the Alleyway Theatre, starring Caroline Kolasny, Sara Kow-Falcone, and Josh Wilde. World premiere runs through March 4, Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 at the Alleyway Theatre, 1 Curtain Up Alley (between Pearl and Main north of Shea’s). 716-852-2600 alleyway.com
Additional Information: Industry Monday: February 20 at 7:30 with one afternoon Matinee: February 25 at 3:30.
Runtime: Two hours with one intermission
THUMBNAIL SKETCH (taken from the publicity): To save herself from her chronically incessant thoughts, Nicky converts them into sounds so she can fall asleep to the sound of rain. This works until, during a bout of crippling social anxiety at college, a thought about her mother turns into a vicious storm. Nicky outruns the storm all the way home, where she returns to her old job at the Container Store and to Mom… who hasn’t left the apartment in five years. While searching for self-help books at the Last Borders Bookstore on the Planet, she meets Borders Guy, the Last Borders Employee on the Planet, who introduces her to the mysterious Aleph, a Borges-inspired point of overwhelming omniscience he guards in the back of the store. Through a chain of “self-help” both comic and poignant, Nicky, her mother, and Borders Guy struggle to smash down the walls that enclose their lives. A fantastical new drama about the power of human connection, THE ALEPH COMPLEX is the 2020 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Award Winner.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: Before the play even starts we are in awe of the detailed set, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to our left, floor-to-ceiling shelves of plastic containers on our right, an apartment in the middle on the second level, Borders book store sales counter in the middle on the main level which later opens to become the Borders store basement. Since Artistic Director Chris Handley began his tenure several years ago, even during the pandemic, the sets have been some of the best in town and a real visual treat, not to mention just loaded with symbolism. And in a play inspired by magical-realist writer Jorge Luis Borges, that’s important.
In her Director’s Notes Robyn Lee Horn writes: “THE ALEPH COMPLEX was selected from among 500 plays submitted from across the country. I was on the committee to read and evaluate works submitted for the 2020 competition. Among a crop of outstanding new play finalists, I found my thoughts returning again and again to THE ALEPH COMPLEX. When we gathered to select a winner, many on the committee shared that the play had somehow gotten under their skin.”
This play wouldn’t leave me either. There are so many levels, literally on stage, and figuratively too. I can see this play being assigned in a college English course for a semester-long thesis. Unfortunately, this reviewer doesn’t have 13 weeks, but rather 13 hours, so trust me, I know I’m going to miss stuff. The play is that rich in symbolism.
We first meet Nicky (Caroline Kolasny) a Freshman at Cornell, making a presentation in class, using shadow puppets (Plato’s Cave, anyone?) and struggling to explain that every story can be told from a different point of view. The story she uses is a variation of O’Henry’s “The Last Leaf” in which a girl, suffering from a grave illness, tells her mother that when the last leaf on the tree outside her window falls, she will succumb to death. The mother valiantly goes outside in a storm to paint a leaf on the tree thus saving her daughter, but then the mother dies of exposure to the elements. Nicky wonders if mom’s choice was the best course of action. Nicky thinks a lot. A LOT.
Suffering from crippling social anxiety (we learn that there are 901 clubs at Cornell and she hasn’t joined one) Nicky goes home for some R&R to mom’s apartment where, instead of getting a dose of super-mom, Nicky feels compelled to become her mother’s caregiver to help mom (Sara Know-Falcone) overcome her own crippling social anxiety.
If all this sounds a bit depressing, it isn’t. And one reason is the third character, Borders Guy (Josh Wilde) who presents as much more relaxed, and he’s rather funny, and perhaps there’s a little spark between him and Nicky. He shows her the Borders collection of “self-help” books including “The Idiot’s Guide to Choosing a Self-Help Book.”
Later, he shows Nicky the Aleph, a sort of portal to view the universe in super-granularity. I looked up “Aleph” and found that it’s the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet (the second is “Bet” giving us the word “Alphabet.”) But, more than that I read that “Aleph, in Jewish mysticism, represents the oneness of God… the hidden and ineffable aspects of and God’s revelation and presence in the world.” Please note: This is NOT a “religious” play; it’s actually pretty secular, and remember that the playwright may not have been inspired by Jewish mysticism as much as the Jorge Luis Borges short story “The Aleph” which you can read here.
In the story, the narrator (Borges) says “… I arrive now at the ineffable core of my story. And here begins my despair as a writer. All language is a set of symbols whose use among its speakers assumes a shared past. How, then, can I translate into words the limitless Aleph, which my floundering mind can scarcely encompass?”
How can I, writing this review in Buffalo Rising, translate into words this theatrical experience, which my floundering mind can scarcely encompass? You see my problem.
So one of my interpretations (after very little sleep) is that there is no such thing as “self” help. We are all connected in oneness. This is symbolically shown later in the play when Nicky gives Border Guy a sweater to wear, and as she steps into the Aleph, he gives her a strand of yarn from the sleeve, so that she can find her way back. Later that one continuous strand of yarn (think “thread” as in The Labyrinth or The Fates) will connect Nicky, Mom, and Borders Guy.
For a local production (as opposed to say a Broadway tour at Shea’s where we expect some razzle dazzle) this play is delightfully heavy with production elements, starting with the super-detailed set as mentioned (Scenic Design by Lynne Koscielniak; Costume and Puppetry Design by Caitlin McLeod), as well as hundreds of lighting and sound cues (Technical Direction by Emma Schimminger; Sound Design by Hudson Waldrop; Stage Management by Kim Neiss; Lighting Design by Aaron Bowersox). Great job, all.
Often in the theater, I conduct a thought experiment when I ask myself “would this be better at home, sitting in my easy chair, watching it on Netflix?” And here the answer is no. This play really has to be experienced live with an audience around you.
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!