Kim Ostrenko, Nick Santa Maria, Kim Cozortand Michael Serratore in God of Carnage.
By Hap Erstein
There is a lot more carnage then there are signs of God in Yasmina Reza’s 2009 Tony Award-winning best play, God of Carnage, which opens this evening at the Caldwell Theatre Company in Boca Raton.
As she did with her earlier acclaimed comedy Art, Reza enjoys conjuring up adults moved by circumstances to act childishly. In that earlier play, it was three men, long-time friends whose bond is snapped when one of them buys and flaunts an expensive, minimalist painting. Similarly, God of Carnage concerns two civilized, upscale couples who come together to discuss calmly an act of playground violence between their sons, but are soon reduced to hostile children themselves.
As Kenneth Kay, who directs the Caldwell production, says of Reza, “She’s very interested in discovering what’s underneath relationships, whether it’s three guys dealing with a painting or two sets of parents dealing with an altercation. She loves to peel away those layers.”
“I thought it was pretty funny, because OK, we’re adults, quote-unquote, but we also have the potential to be childish,” says actress Kim Ostrenko, who plays wealth manager Annette. “And I’ve seen it because I live in a condo and I was involved, unfortunately, with the board for a while. Wow, do you see it there. Those people go crazy. All decorum and adult behavior just goes out the window, and they just go down to their most primitive behavior.”
“We’ve seen all kinds of soccer moms and dads, and heard news reports of how they go ballistic,” chimes in Kim Cozort, who plays writer Veronica. “When I was working with a children’s theater program and directing kids, I saw these parents at the auditions accosting me, saying ‘I saw you give more attention to that kid.’ I tried to be so nice and, boy, underneath they were ready to just take me out.”
“It’s a human thing. When you strip it away, we are a human animal,” adds Michael Serratore, playing wholesaler Mike, Veronica’s husband. “We have two natures. We aspire to godliness, but we also have a base nature.”
In the course of the play, not only does civility dissolve before our eyes, but characters gang up on each other. “With one word it can turn on a dime,” says Cozort. “Alliances can change – male against female, couple against couple – but you have to be present at every moment. We have to be on at all times, listening, ready. With this play, there’s nowhere to hide.”
“From a structural point of view, it’s the kind of play that I like to direct,” says Kay. “It’s got a real mix of outlandish comedy, some funny physical stuff and ultimately, it’s just a great story about these four people who come together to try to figure this incident out and solve it.”
Still, God of Carnage may not be to everyone’s taste. “My mother is afraid to come see the show,” says Nick Santa Maria, who plays cell phone-obsessed lawyer Alan, married to Annette. “She said, ‘What’s it like?’ I said, ‘Ma, it’s a comedy, but it’s kind of unpleasant.’ She’s not sure she wants to see her son be unpleasant.”
The previous time Santa Maria appeared at the Caldwell was 11 years ago in Joe DiPietro’s Over the River and Through the Woods, a feel-good comedy. “With a lot of warmth,” he notes. “This is the opposite.”
GOD OF CARNAGE, Caldwell Theatre Company, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Friday, April 15-Sunday, May 15. Tickets: $27-$50. Call: (561) 241-7432.