Frontmezzjunkies reports: I caught a glimpse of ANON, and now I’m missing the rest
By Ross
I was excited to see “ANON: a tempest at our kitchen table” at MCC Theater last weekend, where Anne Washburn’s new play, directed by Anne Kauffman (MTC’s Mary Jane), was making its world premiere. Sadly, a technical issue that couldn’t be resolved in time meant the performance was canceled, leaving me with only the first few minutes and a whole lot of curiosity. Even that brief glimpse was enough to get me curious about what Kauffman had in store, and I was especially eager to see Crystal Finn again after becoming thoroughly obsessed with her in Cold War Choir Practice. Having opened last night, October 14, and running through November 1, the production launches MCC Theater’s 40th anniversary season. The cast includes Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee Jeremy Shamos, alongside Finn, Jeff Biehl, Andrew Garman, and Izabel Mar. I was all set for a proper introduction to this show. The theatre gods, apparently, had other plans.
In Washburn’s Texas suburb, apparently all it takes is a gay pride flag unfurled across the street from Jeanie, an increasingly online TikToker, to send two seemingly different households into a freak-out. Washburn, whose credits include Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, explores what happens when online fantasy spills into the lives of the people living right across the street. I was hooked within minutes, which is spectacularly inconvenient because I’ll be out of the country for the entire run and won’t get another chance to see it. So my ANON experience amounts to a tantalizing glimpse, a head full of questions, and a travel schedule that has refused to cooperate. I’m especially sorry to miss Finn, but I’ll leave this suburban tempest to the lucky audiences who get to see where it all goes. Fill me in if you get the chance.