Christopher Daftsios, Eli Ganias and Amie Bermowitz, photo by Andrea Phox

(LONG BRANCH, NJ) — If you like to experience bold, new, challenging theatre, find your way to New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) in Long Branch to see their World Premiere of The Other American, which runs until September 29, 2024.  The play is likely unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

The story involves a young artist named Stan Glickman who is spending a year in Paris learning and developing his craft.  Things are going well for him there.  He’s fallen in love, has a nearby cafe he adores, and won a competition to have his work in a show at the Met. But everything changes for him one night when a stranger - a fellow American - offers to buy him a drink and won’t take no for an answer.

That drink was laced with L.S.D. and the man was working for the CIA. They were dabbling in mind control with the recently introduced drug and had no idea what would happen to the people they drugged.

The play, written by D.W. Gregory, is based on a true story.

Christopher Daftsios and Naja Selby-Morton, photo by Andrea Phox

For 10 days, Glickman’s goes on such a bad trip that he has a complete mental breakdown and becomes a different person.  He never paints again, never has any relationships, and has a story that nobody can believe.

That is until his sister watched televised Senate hearings led by Ted Kennedy in 1977 on abuses by the CIA. When one witness brought up a government drug program that used innocent (and unknowing) Americans to test the effect of drugs, she realized her brother’s story might be true.

The play is a fascinating exploration of a court case between Glickman and the CIA agent that slipped him the L.S.D. tainted drink.  It weaves back and forth from the 1950s to the current day - sometimes instantly jumping from one point to the next.  Actors are constantly coming and going, creating mayhem on stage which resembles Glickman’s scrambled brain.  In fact, much of the play appears to have double meanings.

Sets at NJ Rep are often spectacular, transforming their stage into apartments, offices, and houses that one could easily imagine being used in real life.  Every detail down to the smallest is seemingly accounted for.  But for this play, the audience sees a rather empty room when they enter the theater.  It’s a very sparse, white room with just a table and two chairs. It's like a blank canvas.

Looks can definitely be deceiving though and that’s the case here.  Inside the room are several areas that can be pulled out to reveal boxes, tables, even an art studio.  The design reminds me of a jigsaw puzzle, which goes along with the play as well - Glickman is trying to fill in the missing details of what happened to him and why.  The sparse set also allows the theatre company to present special lighting effects.

The wonderful cast includes Amie Bermowitz, Christopher Daftsios, Eli Ganias, John Lescault, and Naja Selby-Morton.  The production is directed by James Glossman who has been part of several productions at NJ Rep over the years includes A Tailor Near Me, Circumference of a Squirrel, Tour De Farce, and most recently DW Gregory’s Memoirs of a Forgotten Man.

Amie Bermowitz, Eli Ganias, Christopher Daftsios, Naya Selby-Morton and John Lescault, photo by Andrea Phox

Everyone in the cast except for Christopher Daftsios (Stanley Glickman) and John Lescault (CIA agent Sidney Gottlieb) have multiple roles. The comings and goings on stage require the audience to pay close attention as the actors quickly change from one character to the next.

Thankfully, The Other American grabs your attention enough that you will be drawn into the story so much that it’s not that difficult to follow.  And the actors all do an outstanding job of presenting their characters in distinctive ways.

Much of the play’s strengths depend on Daftsios and Lescault and the two actors are tremendous throughout.

John Lescault and Christopher Daftsios, photo by Andrea Phox

Playwright D.W. Gregory is best known for Radium Girls and has had several works presented at NJ Rep including Memoirs of a Forgotten Man, The Good Daughter, and October 1962.

New Jersey Repertory Company is well known and respected for their World Premiere plays and they are to be commended for The Other American.  In a way, this is like seeing an experimental film played out on stage or watching a dream unfold.  It truly is an amazing experience!

The Other American has performances Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. The play runs about 2 hours and has one intermission.  NJ Rep is located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey. Click here for tickets.

NJ Rep’s lobby offers a fascinating timeline of the actual Glickman story as well as several pieces of his artwork. Their gallery at the West End Arts Center (132 West End Ave) in Long Branch is presenting ACID - The Art of Stanley Glickman now through September 28, 2024.  The gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00am to 4:00pm and weekdays by appointment.

Amie Bermowitz and John Lescault, photo by Andrea Phox

 

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