It was inevitable that my reaction to Disgraced, which premiered two years ago at Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theater and subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, would be colored and impacted by events in the real world.
The play as directed again by Kimberly Senior, however, remains thoughtful, often blistering, and dramatically compelling. Although I reserve my right to disagree with the Pulitzer Prize committee (what else is new?), I have no reason to change my positive opinion of the play except for the way that its deluge of dramatic contrivances appears slightly more strained and superficially embedded than I recall them.
Akhtar, a Pakistani-American has put an unsettling spin on a before, during and after dinner party from hell in which well-educated, socially sophisticated, politically savvy people lose their cool and their sense of perspective when it comes to matters concerning religious beliefs, social standing, and cultural identity. A little quibble: Why would a savvy hostess prepare pork tenderloin for dinner knowing that her guest was a Jew and potential promoter for her art? (Forget the fact that African-American Muslims are also not inclined to eat pork.) Add a little sexual impropriety and you've got Disgraced. Except where the actors are concerned, my review is essentially the same as the one I wrote two years ago.
Amir (Hari Dhillon) a successful Pakistani-American lawyer and his adoring white American wife Emily (Gretchen Mol), who is also achieving recognition as a fine artist, appear to be deeply in love and in complete harmony as a couple when we first see them on Saturday morning in their Upper East Side New York apartment. She is sketching him, inspired by a portrait of a slave by Valesquez. As he stands nattily dressed from the waist up (below he has on only his boxer shorts), iIt is clear by their chatter and show of affection that their racial divide has not been a divide. It has, in fact, proven a catalyst and an inspiration to Emily whose recent paintings have been notable and noticed for their embrace of ancient Islamic tradition and design.
Things are destined to get out of hand, however, when they are visited by Amirs Pakistani-born nephew Abe (Danny Ashok) and later that evening when two business colleagues— Isaac (Josh Radnor), a Jewish art curator from the Whitney, and his African-American wife Jory (Karen Pittman), a lawyer who works with Amir for the same firm — come for dinner.
There is always room for another provocative play in which people are seen moving characteristically from the rational to the irrational when faced with the need to either defend or refute ingrained social, religious, and cultural beliefs. There is certainly room for this taut, short play in which no punches are pulled (quite literally). It takes the challenge one step farther and in a way that makes us see how a group of relatively high-minded, purportedly open-minded people can't see or avoid the pitfalls that inevitably come with being right and/or righteous.
Disgraced is commendable for the way it doesn't shy away from dealing with topics and issues that we are all taught to avoid in polite company. Though not quite on the same level as the hyperbolic histrionics that fuel Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, it is nevertheless filled with adrenaline-pumping theatrics that go quickly to the heart of what's at stake. For Amir, it’s how to maintain his guarded image despite his Pakistani roots. Fundamental to his view of "intelligence" is his rejection of the Muslim faith, certainly the best way to survive in the current political, professional, and social climate, specifically to secure his future with the law firm whose two senior partners are Jewish.
Although he is adamant about not complying with his nephews plea to help an imprisoned Imam, Amir relents to Emily's urging and goes to the prison where his presence is noted by the press and subsequently viewed unfavorably by the law firm. The strain of Amir's impulsive decision to please Emily inevitably grows into rage when he senses that his future has been compromised by his wife's liberal-mindedness.
Emotions spiral out of control at the dinner party, presumably an opportunity for Isaac to confirm that he will mount an exhibition of Emily's paintings. On a darker note, Jory, who was originally mentored by Amir but is now a rival, is delegated to unleash some jarring news both of a professional and personal nature. Under Kimberly Senior's excellent direction, all hell inevitably breaks lose as Isaac feels compelled to stand up to the raging and ranting Amir with his own intellectually incendiary rebuttals.
What makes Disgraced so compelling and also ironic is seeing how good intentions turn sour and good deeds are punished. All five of the provocateurs are identity-challenged. Dhillon, who played the role of the fast-talking, upwardly mobile Amir in London, is convincing as a man fevered by opportunism that is as much a motivation as is his fervent secularism. Mol, who can currently be seen as Gillian in HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," gives a fine performance as Emily, the well-meaning, blindly liberal wife.
Radnor brings a considerable amount of disciplined tension to the party as Isaac who ultimately has to work as hard to define himself as do the others. Pittman is impressive as the African-American woman now unapologetically climbing up the corporate latter. Maskati is effectively intense as Abe, whose allegiances are as vehemently expressed as his real name, Hussein, is conveniently suppressed.
Certainly the fear factor has been exploited to its full potential in these past two years by those who see it as an effective weapon to promote racism, bigotry, and intolerance and as a useful political tool to divide and conquer even the more rational among us. Of course that makes Disgraced either more timely and topical than ever, or more incendiary and provocative in light of the more pronounced political posturing that we see and hear on the news and in print. There is a clear and distinct message here about how easy it is to be unwittingly patronizing with regard to patriotism, nationalism, and multi-culturalism.
But one last quibble: In a strange way, the up-scale living room setting by the usually brilliant set designer John Lee Beatty takes the notion of beige and mainly bare walls to a new level of blah, especially as it is the home of an artist. The setting for the Off Broadway production was designed by Lauren Helpern) and was more on the money.
