The love that exists between members of a family is often described as unconditional.
Sometimes, this love is tested.
In Jeff Baron's play, "Visiting Mr. Green," the strength of unconditional love is continually brought into question. The play, presented by distinguished theater professor Saul Elkin's new Jewish Repertory Theatre, opened last weekend at the Main Street Cabaret.
The production of the play is due largely to Elkin, who stars as Mr. Green and is the founder of the new Jewish company, a joint-project with the Jewish Community Center.
Elkin shares the stage with actor Chris Kelly, who plays young businessman Ross Gardner. As the house lights dim and the set comes to life, Mr. Green's apartment becomes visible. Soon, there is a knock on the door and Gardner enters. He explains to the somewhat senile Green that he has been ordered by the court to come every Thursday to act as an aide for the elderly man.
In the first scene, it also explained that this sentence is community service for Gardner, a reckless driver who almost took Green's life.
The first few Thursday meetings are made up of witty conversational jabs that the two men take at each other and other comic elements that arise from the two-generation gap that exists between the two characters.
Then, the two begin to form a meaningful relationship. Green reveals that he has been mourning the loss of his wife. In light of this, Gardner becomes not just a guy who helps with the chores, but also a companion.
The first major conflict in the plot comes at the end of the first act when Green is questioning Gardner about his search for a wife. Gardner reluctantly confides that he is a homosexual and the act ends as Green becomes uncomfortable and says that he needs to lie down.
The function of the two-generation gap between the two men is that the relationship that they form represents a bridge connecting new and old ways of thinking. Green is a devout Jew and a bigoted man who is holding onto the ideals of the early-to-mid-20th century.
In the second act, the audience learns that Gardner is not the only one with a personal secret. Green accidentally mentions the fact that he has a daughter with whom he does not speak, as a result of her decision to marry out of the Jewish faith.
Once the issues of Gardner's sexuality and Green's disownment of his daughter are out in the open, the humor of the first act disappears entirely.
The play takes on a serious tone about unconditional love and deep-rooted beliefs.
Gardner is similar to Green's daughter in that he has also lost some of his parents' love as a result of his choices.
The play has an emotional and uplifting way of resolving the conflicts that are presented. Both actors deliver impressive performances in this story that manages to mix laughter with some of biggest potential problems that can occur in a man's life.
