Vengeance is the Lord's, a play by Bob Glaudini, at the Huntington Theater, November 27, 2010. Directed by Peter Dubois.
A type of family drama. Instead of the usual diner or candy shop, the family business is small-time crime. They're not above murder. The family is ruled by the patriarch and matriarch, Mathew and Margaret Horvath. Good performances all around.
A good play. Despite the profanity, dog-eat-dog morality, and glimpses of loathsome personalities, Glaudini got me to believe that these people were, in fact, a real family. They treated each other as family members, even when they were swearing at each other and Woody was twisting his younger brother Donald's arm, or the mother was beating Donald with her cane. Something kept them all together, observing family holidays, hierarchies, and traditions. The affection went along with the beatings.
In fact, they were better at being a family than most families I've known. And that seemed a bit hard to believe. It's touching to see Woody (played with a measured, restrained menace by Lee Tergesen) helping his mother up the stairs. Yet, what is it in this mother that makes her worth helping up the stairs? Why would a Woody stay in this house? He seems to be trapped, like everyone is this family.
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