Superior Donuts

When I was in New York with Matt, I went to see Tracy Lett's new play, Superior Donuts, with my buddies Ben and Casey. Ann and her son, Adam, went to see it last night. Collectively, we all really enjoyed it . . .

This is certainly a kinder, gentler play than Lett's Pulitzer and Tony winning, August: Osage County, but it is no less powerful. The dialogue is crisp (nobody writes banter better than Letts), the cast (intact from a critically-acclaimed run at Steppenwolf in Chicago) is excellent, and the play somehow combines humor, conflict, hope, and violence. The main focus is the friendship that develops between Arthur (the great Michael McKean), an aging hippie who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War, and his new 21-year-old African-American employee, Franco Wicks (star-in-the-making Jon Michael Hill), who blows into Arthur's struggling Donut shop in Southside Chicago one morning and talks his way into a job. Hill is an amazing young performer--his Franco is busting with energy, ideas, quick-witted humor, and a vibrancy that contrasts with Arthur's emotional distance and McKean's understated, but nuanced, performance. McKean and Hill's have an easy presence together on stage and many of their exchanges are laugh out loud funny. As we slowly realize that Franco's bravado is hiding serious problems, however, the tone turns darker and there are several moments in the play that you can't help but gasp.

There are a few drawbacks to this production, including unecessary extended monologues and a badly choreographed on-stage fight scene, but overall the Culture Buddies highly recommend Superior Donuts!