Susan Granger’s review of “Ugly Lies the Bone” (Roundabout Underground Black Box: Oct.,2015)
In the World Premiere of this new drama, writer Lindsey Ferrentino confronts the topical dilemma of the wounded female soldier whose biggest battle is on the home front.
Jess (Mamie Gummer) has just returned to her hometown on Florida’s “Space Coast” after her third tour in Afghanistan. After being nearly killed by an improvised explosive device (IED), she’s in a pain management program, bravely trying to stretch her limbs and move her scarred skin – since third-degree burns cover over 90% of her body.
But it’s her deeply scarred face that reflects her enduring emotional agony.
After the suspension of NASA’s shuttle program, Titusville’s economy has plummeted. Jess’s mother (Caitlin O’Connell) suffers from dementia. Her schoolteacher sister Kacie (Karron Graves) is struggling to make ends meet, while Kacie’s boyfriend, Kelvin (Haynes Thigpen), lives on disability for a knee injury.
Jess’s former boyfriend, Stevie (Chris Stack) is now married and working as a gas station/convenience store clerk. He shares a memorably poignant scene with Jess, as she asks him to describe what she looked like before the burns disfigured her.
Helping her tenuous grip on sanity, Jess is participating in a new form of therapy which involves Virtual Reality headgear and a disembodied vocal guide to psychically take her out of the painful present and into tranquility.
Director Patricia McGregor was wise in casting talented, versatile Mamie Gummer. The oldest daughter of Meryl Streep, Mamie made her New York stage debut 10 years ago in “Mr. Marmalade” and recently appeared on-screen opposite her mother in Jonathan Demme’s “Ricki and the Flash.”
But any play is only as good as its script – and Lindsey Ferrentino needs to do more work. Clocking in at 75 minutes without an intermission, it’s overly bleak and needs to be fleshed out, particularly the supporting roles.
FYI: The title is allegedly derived from Albert Einstein’s couplet about the impermanence of beauty.
Apparently, Ferrentino was inspired by a therapeutic video game called Snow World, in which burn victims are immersed in a wintry landscape, complete with penguins. After the show, audience members can try the game in the lobby.
“Ugly Lies the Bone” has been extended at the Roundabout Underground’s Black Box through December 6. For ticket information, call 212-719-1300 or go to roundaboutheatre.org.