Prodigal Son
written and directed by John Patrick Shanley
Manhattan Theatre Club
March 20, 2016
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5
This play started out rather slowly for me. It was either because I had worn a sweater way to heavy for the heated theatre or I was just so able to expect the first moments. I saw the young prep school boy on stage with a model of a very formal New England prep school in the background and I could just guess that we were going down a predictable “Good Will Hunting” world. I KNEW that the boy was going to be tortured and going to be mis-understood and going to make some kind of redemption or transformation in the 90 intermission-less minutes. AND I was kinda right – – but it is where I was wrong that the show got oh, so interesting . . .
To begin, TIMOTHY CHALET is quite brilliant as the tortured high school senior. More then just mastering the Brooklyn dialect he simply glows on stage. His whole body tells the story and I got a sense that has never set any of these lines down to line readings; I believe that he is making it up all in front of me – and that was and is magical. I could have watched him read the phone book (back when they had one). He was that good!
What so moved me is the relationship that plays out between two kinds of mentors working with the boy. The first is the headmaster, Chris McGarry. He extended his hand to invite this poor boy to his wealthy school – he wasn’t sure why – but it just felt right. And from that point he suffered for each and every rule exception he granted this trouble-making student. He just didn’t “get” how any student could throw away his future with every petty theft and cherished bottle of illegal liquor. The headmaster just couldn’t see beyond the present – – could never see this student out of the context of the school and moving into his adult years. In simple terms, he has a senior who has stolen and fought before and been forgiven – – who NOW, only days away from graduating decides to get drunk on campus. The RULES say he should be immediately expelled. The RULES make sense. The RULE is right – the BOY is wrong. The headmaster has every right to kick him out. BUT – – who is really served by the expulsion? Does the school really benefit from it? Does it teach the student? Does anyone win or benefit? What do you do when the young and talented – act young and stupid? No easy answer here.
The second mentor, Robert Sean Leonard, presents an entirely different definition of mentoring. As the play claims, he is the one “good with the troubled ones.” This younger teacher stays with the student throughout the ride in high school. He becomes the perfect debate partner, the perfect cheerleader and the perfect sounding board. Even the student claims, “He believed I was good – even before I was good.” What affected me the most in this mentoring relationship is the fact that the student was smarter than the teacher. True the teacher knew more book stuff, but the student could read intent and motivation for all the teacher was doing and saying This teacher simply could’t hide! We in the teaching business always say that teenagers know EVERYTHING that’s going down in the school – – but how frightening it would be if the student could read teachers with that same clairvoyance. If I were not in the education biz, I would walk out of the theatre talking on and on about Timothy Chalet. He was certainly worth the ticket price. But I am not sure that the story will stick with them. BUT as a teacher this became a mighty spooky story – a mighty spooky play . . . mighty spooky.