There is a lot of stuff in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ enigmatic family comedy “Appropriate” that I am not in a position to fully explain, such as the overwhelming buzzing of cicadas during blackouts, the time-shifting ending, or even the title and whether it is referring to the adjective or verb form of “appropriate.” Notwithstanding, I can at least confirm that it is a wild and unhinged play that is receiving one hell of a production.
This marks a long-delayed Broadway debut for Jacobs-Jenkins, a provocative 38-year-old African-American playwright whose best-known plays include “An Octoroon” (a freewheeling riff on a long-forgotten 19th century melodrama) and “Gloria” (a vicious black comedy about self-centered urban professionals).
“Appropriate,” which received its Off-Broadway debut in 2014 with a different cast and production team, deals with family dysfunction and remnants of the past.
It is set in a decaying plantation home in Arkansas, where three adult siblings, including the temperamental and resentful Toni (Sarah Paulson), business-minded and condescending Bo (Corey Stoll), and unstable and emotionally lost Franz (Michael Esper), have gathered following their father’s recent death before the property is auctioned off in order to satisfy outstanding debts, with the hope that there will be some money left over to split.
They are joined by various other family members including Toni’s troubled teenage son Rhys (Graham Campbell), Bo’s uncomfortable wife Rachael (Natalie Gold), and Franz’s much younger, New Agey fiancée River (Elle Fanning).
While trying to put the house into order and in the midst of non stop arguing and trading criticisms and accusations, the family discovers some extremely mysterious and disturbing historical artifacts, which raises questions about where they came from, what this means about their father, and what they should do about them, including whether to destroy them or perhaps sell them.
At the play’s peak, in act two, after Franz delivers an unhinged monologue, the stage descends into mad anarchy as fights break out between characters and then Bo’s child suddenly runs onstage with yet another alarming discovery.
The production (directed by Lila Neugebauer, who will also stage “Uncle Vanya” at Lincoln Center later this season) relies on the explosive interactions of the ensemble cast, with Paulson leading the way in a raw, heated and vigorous performance. While one might find much of the play to be distasteful or bizarre, it makes for genuinely compelling and satisfying theater.
Hayes Theater, 240 W. 44th St., 2st.com. Through March 3.
