cheek by jowl
‘Drunken City’ vs. ‘Drunk Enough’: Which Play Rewards Drunken Viewing?
Off Broadway's gotten a little boozy lately. First, Caryl Churchill's Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? opened mid-March at the Public Theater; then last week, Playwrights Horizon introduced Adam Bock's Drunken City. No, you're not seeing double … but what if you'd like to? Which of these two drunken dramas most reward drunken attendance? —Lori Fradkin
 The Drunken City |
 Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? |
|
| Familiar story line? | Pretty much — it's about a bachelorette party gone astray. | Based strictly on the title, yes. (Sigh.) |
| Potential for a "I feel like I know you" scenario? | Low. Cassie Beck, who plays the bride, is making her New York debut. | High. You totally know (and love!) Scott Cohen from Gilmore Girls, Kissing Jessica Stein, and more. |
| Characters serve as metaphors for other, more complicated things? | Not really. | Yes — one character represents America, and one character represents England. Some concentration may be required. |
| Representative dialogue? | Funny and realistic: "I got so nervous I went into my room and I took my bottle of Windex and I cleaned my sneakers." | Fractured and impressionistic, i.e. difficult to parse: "GUY: not that I don't still love my wife and children but SAM: who doesn't want to be loved? but GUY: first time I saw you SAM: the bar and the guy with" |
| Vertigo-inducing staging? | Yes. Stage tips sideways like a teeter-totter, potentially inducing audience vomiting. | Yes. Couch rises far above the stage, potentially inducing audience fainting. |
| Short enough that you might not fall asleep? | 80 minutes. | 45 minutes. Cheers! |
Related: The Drunken City [NYM]
Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? [NYM]
Photos by Joan Marcus.
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