By Erik Kvarnberg
In Matthew Capodicasa’s play The City in the City in the City, which wrapped its world premiere run Nov. 23 at FAU Theatre Lab, the “city” of the title is as much a character as the two women who navigate it.
Performed by Niki Fridh and Vaishnavi Sharma, this provocative two-hander touched on multiple problems of human existence while also showcasing the impressive acting chops of its actors, who carry the ambiguous accents, idiosyncrasies, guilt, suffering, and histories of the main characters and an entire city in a seamless, playful manner.
Capodicasa originally developed the 100-minute play at the Great Plains Theatre Commons in Omaha in 2017. It was produced by Omaha’s Bluebarn Theatre in 2018 and was adapted into a radio play as a podcast in 2020 (it’s available on Capodicasa’s personal website).
Fridh is a six-time nominated and three-time winner of the Carbonell Award, as well as a four-time recipient of the Silver Palm Award for her acting efforts over 25 years. Sharma has been featured in theater productions including Romeo and Juliet at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, as well as playing characters in television series such as Mr. Robot, High Maintenance, Leftovers, and Blue Bloods.
For this production, the cozy yet multi-tiered stage at FAU’s Theatre Lab was covered with vibrant textiles from various cultures, with cages and Turkish lamps hanging from the ceiling.
The lights dimmed. “My mother died last week,” begins Tess, played by Sharma.
It develops that Tess’s father has left a package for Tess and her mother in the mysterious fictional city of Mastavia. After a humorous meeting with the dregs of Craigslist ad-watchers while searching for a traveling companion, Tess meets Laura Maynard (Fridh), a divorced woman who shares her name with Tess’s late mother.
Tess and Laura will journey to Mastavia to discover what Tess’ father left behind nearly 25 years before, each realizing that they leave no impressions behind in their native Brooklyn. The city turns out to be a conglomeration of other cities and other times. Doors behind doors, staircases, winding alleys, and concrete next to cobblestone reflect its history of outsiders and disappearing armies.
The city itself has a tumultuous history and ridiculous rules for navigating it, such as passing through a checkpoint from only one side. Each new character, whether it is an old woman in a jazz bar or a lawyer — all played by Fridh and Sharma — adopts multiple languages and ambiguous accents to fit the city. Somehow, in its chaos, Capodicasa writes the city almost as a complete character, with depth and consciousness.
As the two main characters engage with the city in different ways, the mystery of Tess’s father and of the city itself unfolds, posing unanswered question after unanswered question. The ending of the play follows two essential story-writing rules: Questions get answered, and the characters are changed in the process. The final moments of this play are satisfying, and the changes occur in a way that feels appropriate.
That said, the play felt somewhat empty because of the lack of extras, backdrops, and many of the things that make a theatrical production an immersive, transportational experience. At any point during this stage performance, the audience could close their eyes and experience the play in the same manner as the 2020 radio show version.
But as is, it was truly a feat that Fridh and Sharma were able to memorize each line and deliver them in various accents, with enough energy to maintain the show’s momentum for 100 minutes.
Fridh’s performance was especially powerful, jumping headfirst into boisterous mannerisms and postures in order to bring Mastavia to life. She brought an air of physical stage comedy to the humorous parts, and a desolate air to the heart-wrenching parts. This aligned in perfect contrast to Sharma’s straight performance of Tess and the humorous side characters she inhabited for punchlines.
Capodicasa’s humor, whether it be existentialist or situational, landed consistently through the audience. The tension between the two women could be cut like the oft-mentioned monk cheese, and the city’s history very appropriately intertwined with the personal histories of all the characters throughout the show.
As a proper representation of a battle-free adventure story, and a heartfelt story of two normal people engaging with foreign lands in order to examine their lives from afar, Capodicasa firmly grasps the vagaries of life, making the audience feel lost in the crowd and an individual with the right to laugh and grieve at the same time.
This play was worthwhile and satisfying to watch, especially because of the versatility of its two actors. And given the demands of this show, every future production will need the same kind of theatrical prowess at its heart to make its best impact.