For most 20-somethings, the first several minutes of Kenneth Lonergan's "This is Our Youth" present a familiar living space: unmade sheets on a bed, photos and posters tacked across a wall and opened cereal boxes. The scattered mess and makeshift furniture of the set provide a metaphor for the transitional state experienced by the play's characters.
Set in the early 1980s, "This is Our Youth" portrays three young adults raised in New York City's Upper West Side. As they struggle to form an identity, they come to learn that independence necessitates responsibility.
The audience is introduced to Dennis (Nick Clifford '08) while he eats a hamburger in his apartment and the light of the television flickers across his face. After the doorbell rings several times, Dennis finally lets in Warren (David Greis '07), who enters with a large backpack and stuffed duffle bag after having been thrown out of his house by his father.
The interactions that follow between the confident, sharp-tongued, scheming Denis and the soft-spoken, laconic, slightly withdrawn Warren create a striking contrast. The actors both add life to the characters they play, yet neither one is overpowering. Instead, the contrasts allow for each to act as a foil for the other.
The director, Byron Asher '08, said his goal was "to keep things as natural as possible." The production manages to present the complexities of the characters in their entireties while still leaving the audience with a feeling of familiarity and comfort.
This ability to make the audience feel as though they are peeking into real-life scenarios is again reinforced during scenes between Warren and Jessica (Jessica Laser '08). As a romance develops between the two, she reveals her emotions and struggles to the audience, though Laser also successfully maintains a degree of authenticity.
"This is Our Youth" runs the risk of hitting too close to home for 20-somethings. However, the performance uses this familiarity to its advantage by shedding light on the enormous amount of complexities that exist during this transitional period. "This is Our Youth" will be performed Friday March 3 at 8 p.m., Saturday March 4 at 8 p.m., Saturday night at 12 a.m. and Sunday March 5 at 4 p.m. The production is free to the public in the T.F. Green Hall upstairs space.
