Visiting Mr. Green

My thoughts on Visiting Mr. Green or…the need to connect

There’s nothing really new or profound in Theatre Arlington’s beautifully mounted production of Jeff Baron’s Visiting Mr. Green but the story is so well told and acting so incredibly good that you will find yourself touched by this tale of two Jewish New Yorkers separated in age by 50 plus years.

The story takes place in Mr. Green’s apartment. Renowned set designer Kevin Brown has a gift for creating sets that give insights into the characters that inhabit them. It’s obvious from the furnishings of Mr. Green’s dimly lit apartment that not much has changed there in many years. It’s not so much shabby as love worn from a lifetime of use. It’s a set that is symbolic of Mr. Green’s life both past and present.

And in the present Mr. Green’s place is strewn with plastic bags and old newspapers. He’s a recent widower in deep mourning for his wife and housekeeping is not a priority. Into his life comes the young businessman Ross Gardner, whose negligent driving led to Mr. Green being mildly injured. As a consequence, a judge has ordered Ross to visit Mr. Green once a week for six months. As Ross begins to clean the clutter from the apartment, the “clutter” and pain in both of their lives is slowly revealed.

Initially, Mr. Green views Ross’s visits as intrusions into his life and the well of loneliness and grief in which he has placed himself. Gradually, Ross’s kindnesses and the soup and other goodies he brings Mr. Green from a kosher deli, begin to win him over and a tentative friendship forms.

There are numerous complications and revelations that propel the plot, one or two of which you do not see coming. As I said, there is really nothing new here, but the play is well crafted, and Director Steven D. Morris’s staging shows a tenderness for the characters that makes them appealing.

What truly elevates the material is the acting of Parker Gray and David Coffee as Ross and Mr. Green. Anyone who attends theater in the DFW area is familiar those names as two of our finest and most respected actors. Here, once again, they prove worthy of all their accolades. Although the journey they take us on is familiar at times, they inhabit the characters so fully that we become emotionally invested. Equally adept at comedy and drama, Gray and Coffee engender many laughs in Act I as the intense young businessman and the curmudgeonly octogenarian become acquainted then seamlessly deliver the drama and pathos of Act II. You are unaware until the end of the play that the characters have worked their way into your heart.

There is excellent lighting and sound here from Bryan Stevenson and Ryan Simon. Karen Potter’s costumes, especially for Mr. Green, highlight the changes the characters are undergoing.

Director Morris, Parker Gray, and David Coffee make Theatre Arlington’s Visiting Mr. Green an unexpected treat. It’s a heartfelt and sincere look at the effects of an unlikely friendship and the human need to connect. You’ll be glad you dropped in to visit Mr. Green.