When we first see Dennis O’Hare (True Blood) in the new Broadway play, Elling, he is climbing out of a cupboard, and shuts the door behind him as he steps out, shutting out the world behind him. He joins his roommate, Kjell, played by Brendan Frasier (Crash, School Ties), as they ready themselves to leave a mental asylum where they have both been locked up for years, to join the real world. Elling suffers from anxiety that has grown out of control since his mother’s death; Kjell is an over 40 year-old big child who may have suffered brain damage at one point in time. They are both uprooted from the asylum and placed in an apartment in the middle of Oslo to live the rest of their lives together…as normal as they can. There are people roaming in and out of their lives to help them get their lives back together – a social worker (played splendidly by Jeremy Shamos), a flirty waitress and pregnant neighbor (played by the funny Jennifer Coolidge from Legally Blonde and Best in Show) and an aging poet (played by the legendary Richard Easton who I saw a few times last year at BAM and has appeared in countless films and plays).
As the play progresses, the two men learn to live together in an apartment. They are constantly being threatened by the social worker who tells them they have to prove they can live normal lives in order to keep the apartment that they have in Oslo. Elling truly believes that he used to work for the National Security Services in the Middle East and that he is being watched, so at first he chooses not to answer the phone nor leave the apartment. Kjell, something of a shlub with a pot belly, needs to be around people in the outside world and gets them out and about. Elling has trouble in the outside world – he even has trouble peeing in public – and he tends to make up stories so often that even Kjell doesn’t know when to believe him. But at the end of the day, he is the voice of reason, making statements like:
“I don’t want to lose my mind again, I’ll go mad”
“I’m not letting the welfare state decide what I can and can’t do.”
“Logic is the enemy of reason.”
The two actors compliment each other. They are reminiscent of Felix and Oscar form The Odd Couple. As they learn how to reconnect with people and to feed and take care of themselves, their bond grows and they help each other earn another chance in life. O’Hare is an absolute delight to see on stage. As good as he is in True Blood and every film I’ve seen him in (which is nearly every film made over the last few years, he is just as good on stage. His energy and use of what I consider to be method acting combined brought him to the exact state of mind that needed to be projected. Frasier is also very impressive in this role. Although my theater companion had images of him in mainstream film roles like George of the Jungle, his chemistry with O’Hare and Coolidge shined through and he contributed greatly to the play.
I won’t give away the ending, or much of what happens, but there is a birth at the end of the play. The Social Worker returns to see how they are doing and finds vomit near the front door. Just as the two guys think that it is all over and they will be returned to the institution, he tells them, “Asylums are for lunatics – normal people vomit when children are born.” The characters seem to have successfully integrated into Norwegian life, with challenges they face better as a team.
This is Simon Bent’s adaptation of Ingvar Ambjornsen’s Norwegian novel and Peter Naess’ 2001 film. It just opened this weekend at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Disclosure: These tickets were provided to me free of charge so that I could review the show. All opinions expressed above are my own.
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