‘Fish in the Dark’ Could be Renamed “Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Play”

Joey Sack ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld and the creator and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, made his Broadway debut this year with Fish in the Dark, a play written by and starring David as a character very similar to himself. But he’s not the only one making his Broadway premiere in this play— Jake Cannavale, a sophomore at Emerson College, is taking time off from his studies to play a role in this production. The short version of this review is as follows: with its sense of humor and set-up, Fish in the Dark is basically Curb Your Enthusiasm: the Play, not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, there are actually things very right with that. It’s a very funny play. Now, on to the long version of the review…

The play stars Larry David as Norman Drexel, a man in California whose father, Sidney Drexel (Jerry Adler) has died. Now he, along with his brother Arthur (Ben Shenkman), have to decide what to do with their aging and annoying mother, Gloria (Jayne Houdyshell). Also in the mix are Rose (Marylouise Burke) and Harry (Kenneth Tigar), Norman’s aunt and uncle, along with his other uncle Stewie (Lewis J. Stalden), who bicker about who is going to get what when Sidney dies. Norman’s wife, Brenda (Rita Wilson), also plays a big part in the events of the play as she strongly advises Norman to not have her mother-in-law stay in their house. There is also Norman’s maid Fabiana (Rosie Perez) and her son Diego (Jake Cannavale), who play pivotal roles in the play’s plot, as well as a slew of other characters who all have their individual moments to shine.

The story is very much up Larry David’s alley, and it literally feels like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with people making hilarious observations and talking about things that people don’t always talk about. For example, the technicalities of feeling a woman’s breasts. There are more gems like that scattered throughout the play, which will remain unspoiled here; although, even if they were to be spoiled here, it’s very likely that your Fish in the Dark experience may be somewhat different, given Larry David’s disregard for his own script.

As Jake Cannavale explains, “If it’s a really good night, he [Larry David] improvs more, actually. He’s made me laugh onstage numerous times, and he loves it. He loves breaking me.”

Some of the characters, while amusing, didn’t add much to the overall plot; a subplot about Norman’s daughter, Natalie (Molly Ranson), and her boyfriend Greg (Johnny Orsini), didn’t really add much to the play except to paint Norman as even more of a jerk. But then again, that is very similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm where the whole point of each episode seems to be driving home the fact that Larry David’s character is an insensitive jerk.

The show required a lot of sets (six by Emertainment Monthly’s count, though there could have been more that were subtly different), each of which were very nicely designed and always moved very quickly to keep the audience waiting as little time as possible between scenes. The upbeat music that played during scene changes contrasted the depressing subject matter of death that the play made light of. It’s a small, but very nice touch.

The comedy, as previously mentioned, feels straight out of Curb Your Enthusiasm in the best way possible, and all the actors do a great job in their roles. For his first time on Broadway, David does very well, mostly relying on his cynical persona to get him through scenes, but always with really funny moments throughout. From the rest of the cast also come funny jokes and memorable moments, with Lewis J. Stalden’s Uncle Stewie and Jake Cannavale’s Diego Melendez being notable highlights. They weren’t onstage as much as David or some of the other actors, but when they were there. You knew it with Stewie’s angry and over-the-top tendencies and Diego’s impression of a young Sidney Drexel, and its results are very funny moments that will stick with you well after the show is over.

Fish in the Dark is a hilariously good time on Broadway, and a great first playwriting and onstage acting debut for Larry David. Fans of David’s other work, from Seinfeld to Curb Your Enthusiasm will find themselves enjoying this play immensely.

And, as Jake Cannavale notes, “It’s just a straight-up comedy. There hasn’t been one on Broadway that’s purely comedy…without some ulterior motive in a very long time. It’s literally just come-to-laugh. There’s no underlying themes, or subtext, or any of that over-analysis…you just show up and you laugh.”

Show up and laugh indeed. If you’re in New York between now and June 7, you’re a fan of Larry David, you love to laugh, and you can manage to get cheap seats, then Fish in the Dark is the play for you. Just make sure to bring tissues if you wind up in the nosebleed section (which are very good seats in this theatre, by the way), because you may wind up with a nosebleed yourself, much like Emertainment Monthly’s Joey Sack.

Fish in the Dark is currently playing at the Cort Theatre in NYC until June 7, 2015. For more info and tickets visit: http://fishinthedark.com/