Handle With Care

Playing at the West Side Theatre/Downstairs located at 407 West 43rd Street. It runs one hour thirty minutes with one intermission. The show closes March 9, 2014.

Jason Odell Williams is the playwright. He was nominated for a 2013 Emmy Award for “Brain Games”.

The play takes place in a motel room in Goodview, Virginia. It is Christmas Eve 2008, with flashbacks to the day before.

Terrence (Sheffield Chastan) calls his friend Josh (Johnathan Sale) for his help. It seems the delivery Company Terrence works for was supposed to bring a casket to the airport for the body to be sent to Israel. His van was stolen with the body while he stopped to get gas. He did not want to report it to the police for fear he would lose his job.

The grand daughter Ayelet (Charlotte Cohn) was in the United States with her grandmother Edna (Geraldine Librandi). Ayelet speaks very little English. Since Josh is Jewish, Terrence thought he would able to communicate with Ayelet. Josh understands very little Hebrew.

The play goes back and forth from the present to the day before. We find out about the characters and about their lives.

The body is found with the help of the police.

Things happen for a reason. I’m not going to tell you why.

This is a touching story of love lost and found.

A cleaning lady comes in as if the room is being cleaned; changing the bed, calendar date, moving things like luggage to a different location.

Carol Lawrence has been doing the role of Edna. She has not been in the show for three weeks due to an injury. Carol’s under study Geraldine Librandi went on in her place. Geraldine did a great job. She originated the role in Tampa, Florida.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for recent photos. Click on recent photos for this and other shows.