After The Fall at Theater J

After The Fall

Theater J
1529 Sixteenth Street, NW Washington

Miller's most personal play explores one man’s quest to make peace with history; his own and the tumultuous world around him. In the wake of the tragic death of his famous second wife, Quentin desperately tries to move forward in his life. Yet he is compelled to relive his childhood losses, failed marriages and the controversial politics of the 1950's Blacklist which turned allies against each other and leaves Quentin, in the end, as both noble hero and complicit bystander.

Thru - Nov 27, 2011

Price: $25-$60

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 202-777-3210

theaterj.org

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After The Fall Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Recommended

"... Luckily, Theater J has put Miller’s drama in the hands of an insightful stylist. Director Jose Carrasquillo, who made a handsome job of Samuel Beckett’s equally weighty “Happy Days” a few months ago, again teams up with designer Tony Cisek and bright actors to make a mid-20th-century monument look like serious fun to climb."

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- Nelson Pressley

Washington Examiner - Highly Recommended

"... The narrator of Arthur Miller's 1964 play "After the Fall" is that marvelous theatrical creature: the entertaining intellectual. In Theater J's intense, immaculate production of the play, directed by Jos?Carrasquillo, Mitchell H?bert emphasizes up all wry humor and dry wit Miller packed into his main character, Quentin, a lawyer who lusts after a reasonable analysis of his universe."

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- Barbara Mackay

MetroWeekly - Recommended

"... Under the direction of José Carrasquillo, Hébert is supremely cool and confident as he makes his way through Miller's dense thicket of words, ideas and images. And he even has the panache and physique to carry off a slim-fitting suit of the era (one of the smart, spot-on costumes by Ivania Stack). In such tight pants, in fact, Quentin might even be a ''fag,'' Maggie says during one of her increasingly frequent tirades, because that's what they wear to attract one other by showing off their asses. Perceptive girl, this Maggie."

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- Jonathan Padget

Washington City Paper - Recommended

"... While the entire company is strong, the enterprise rests squarely on the actor standing in Quentin’s Florsheims for every minute of this nearly three-hour ordeal. In this role, Mitchell Hébert tops his superb work in Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s recent reprisal of Clybourne Park. Running on from the wings to take his bow after last Saturday’s performance, Hébert looked relieved and exhausted. He flays himself open as fearlessly as any actor I’ve ever seen, implicating us all in his battle to purge hypocrisy from his heart. To watch him in this role is difficult, but just try to look away."

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- Chris Klimek

Washingtonian - Recommended

"... In a play that revolves around the inner turmoil of a single character, casting the lead is crucial. In this case, Mitchell Hébert is the right man for the job, and then some. The majority of the play’s action and emotion rests on Quentin’s shoulders, and Hébert, a longtime company member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, takes it in stride with a layered performance rooted in effortless range. Hesitant to commit to promising new love interest Holga (Jennifer Mendenhall, who also appeared with Hébert in Woolly Mammoth’s Clybourne Park) soon after the suicide of his famous and unstable wife, Maggie (Gabriella Fernández-Coffey), Quentin revisits former relationships and his own shortcomings in a kind of confession to the audience, made all the more intimate by Hébert’s sincere portrayal. Fernández-Coffey stands out, too, in an all-around strong cast. As Maggie, she is electric—a self-destructive star whirring out of control."

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- Gwendolyn Purdom

Washington Jewish Week - Highly Recommended

"... As Quentin visibly battles these feelings of betrayal and guilt, Theater J's production urges us to parse the moral dilemma of living fully and wholly in the wake of the 20th century's incomprehensible ills - the Holocaust and the political hysteria wrought by McCarthyism. The silent cri de coeur implores Quentin - Miller's alter ego - and us to forge a life lived truthfully, honestly, bravely and lovingly. Miller, though Jewish, was not a religious believer - but his soul-bearing battles sought always the truth. Theater J's production does Miller's play justice."

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- Lisa Traiger

After The Fall at Theater J

After The Fall

After The Fall Reviews

Washington Post - Recommended

Washington Examiner - Highly Recommended

MetroWeekly - Recommended

Washington City Paper - Recommended

Washingtonian - Recommended

Washington Jewish Week - Highly Recommended

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