Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is designed to be discomforting. The Casting Spells Productions staging of this 1987 Terrence McNally play, which opened last night at the Theatre Garage, does not shy from this. The resulting experience is raw, uncomfortably intimate in its closeness, and unrelenting. Whether this works for you or not is a matter of taste shaded by age and propelled in part by how much caffeine you’ve consumed.

The late night events of Frankie and Johnny unfold exclusively in Frankie (Shanan Custer)’s living room and kitchen, where she and Johnny (Charles Hubbell) inaugurate events with a loud coital romp in the opening scene. (Fair warning: there is a fair bit of nudity in this production.) Relatively speaking, this is actually one of the least intimate events in the play, as James Detmar’s direction shies away from giving the audience more than the briefest of breaks from the tensions that build. This play may have moments of levity, but lightness is not crafted as part of the experience. However compelling Hubbell’s performance, it butts against the uncomfortable realities and questions of the script, which Custer’s performance brings to life perhaps a little too well.

The danger in this constant intensity is that it threatens to become numbing, especially in the middle of Act 2. (Suggestion: Don’t sit in the front two rows unless you like being right in the middle of such things.) The opening night audience didn’t seem especially bothered by this, although the libation line was notably packed. Teetotalers are advised to find another source of intermission stimulation to see things through to the end, because the second half doesn’t let up, either. It’s a rollercoaster of a ride.

For more information about this play, read the Twin Cities Arts Reader’s interview with James Detmar.

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Basil Considine

Basil Considine was the Editor of the Twin Cities Arts Reader from 2018-2022. He served as Performing Arts Editor and Senior Classical Music and Drama Critic for the Arts Reader's first five years, before succeeding Hanne Appelbaum. He was previously the Resident Classical Music and Drama Critic at the Twin Cities Daily Planet and remains an occasional contributing writer for The Boston Musical Intelligencer and The Chattanoogan. He holds a PhD in Music and Drama from Boston University, an MTS in Sacred Music from the BU School of Theology, and a BA in Music and Theatre from the University of San Diego.

Basil was named one of Musical America's 30 Professionals of the Year in 2017. He was previously the Regional Governor for the National Opera Association's North Central Region and the 2021-2022 U.S. Fulbright Faculty Scholar to Madagascar.

Latest posts by Basil Considine (see all)

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