Rosemary and Evelyn met “a hundred thousand years ago” in Central Park when their children were barely born. SOMEWHERE FUN reunites the two women thirty-five years later on Madison Avenue, one windy fall day. With their children now grown and the world changing rapidly before (what’s left of) their eyes, each finds herself face to face with the terrors, joys, and surprises of life and time. Jenny Schwartz returns to The Vineyard following her critically-acclaimed play GOD’S EAR with this wildly original story about connection — to our families, our memories, our moment in time. Schwartz reunites with director Anne Kauffman (BELLEVILLE, SLOWGIRL) following their collaboration on GOD’S EAR.
Watch Kate Mulgrew on Broadway.com’s ‘SOMEWHERE FUN’ ShowTease
★★★★
CRITIC’S PICK
“IF YOU CARE ABOUT THEATRE THAT STRETCHES THE IMAGINATION,
GO SEE THIS REMARKABLE PLAY!
Constantly surprises and stimulates. Director Anne Kauffman’s production is impeccable. And the actors rise to the challenge of a daunting text. PLAYWRIGHTS LIKE JENNY SCHWARTZ MAKE OUR LANDSCAPE SOMEWHERE STRANGE, HEIGHTENED AND INCREDIBLY FUN!”
- David Cote, Time Out New York
“’SOMEWHERE FUN’ CASTS A CHARMING SPELL!
Like Edward Albee and comedian Steven Wright, Schwartz loves to use language in an absurd way. Entertaining and oddly touching in its own warped way, it creates genuine emotion. The play boasts two charismatic powerhouses in the leads: Kathleen Chalfant and Kate Mulgrew — negotiating the highly stylized dialogue like chefs briskly filleting sentences with sharp knives.”
- Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post
“A BRIGHT, OFFBEAT ABSTRACTION, ABSURD AND JOYFUL AND FULL OF TERRIBLE SORROW.
Kate Mulgrew is virtuosic, and Kathleen Chalfant is delicious.”
-Linda Winer, Newsday
“A FIRST-RATE PRODUCTION! PLENTY OF LAUGHS!
ANYONE WILLING TO THINK — AND FEEL — WILL BE REWARDED BY EXPERIENCING SOMEWHERE FUN.
Kate Mulgrew and Kathleen Chalfant give bravura performances. It is impossible not to admire Schwartz’s deft facility with wordplay, reminiscent of the great Edward Albee. Director Anne Kauffman handles the peculiar rhythms of many of the play’s speeches with sensitivity and acuity — and guides strong performances from her supporting cast — most notably the delightful Shultz and the stalwart Ramirez. Somewhere Fun is a sterling showcase for two great actresses. Mulgrew handles Rosemary’s breathless first-act arias with operatic skill. Chalfant, per usual, is consistently compelling and ultimately heartwrenching. This glorious performer creates another unique human being.”
- Brian Scott Lipton, TheaterMania
“EVOCATIVE, DARKLY FUNNY AND MOVING!
The stellar cast on display at the Vineyard Theatre fluently voices Schwartz’s imaginative linguistics. Kauffman’s stylish production is a perfect showcase for Schwartz’s unique way of communicating how humor may inform and illuminate the messy, contradictory human condition.”
- Jennifer Farrar, Associated Press
“A FLAWLESS CAST — IMPERIOUSLY FUNNY, TALENTED AND EXCELLENT!
The gifted playwright Jenny Schwartz has a distinctive voice. Ms. Schwartz pours forth dizzying streams of language that often delight with their quirky poetry and looping humor.
A sleek production directed by Anne Kauffman.”
– Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
“WONDERFULLY WHIMSICAL!
The Vineyard polishes its rep as an incubator of offbeat plays by eccentric playwrights with SOMEWHERE FUN. Grande dame thesps Kate Mulgrew and Kathleen Chalfant are wonderfully cast. Rosemary Rappaport is played with plenty of energy and a wonderful touch of insanity by Mulgrew. Evelyn Armstrong, the intellectual snob played with hilarious superciliousness by Chalfant. Helmer Kauffman handles this peculiar but intriguing material with canny intelligence and ironic wit.”
- Marilyn Stasio, Variety
“’SOMEWHERE FUN’ IS BLESSED WITH A CRACKERJACK CAST!
Ms. Schwartz’s linguistic dexterity is inspiring and her wordplay inspired. Terrific actors. The
fast-paced, masterful dialogue and monologues propel the enterprise — and the audience — along. Kathleen Chalfant is wryly imperious as Evelyn Armstrong, elegant and witty. Kate Mulgrew’s Rosemary Rappaport is an amusing torrent of verbiage. There is characteristically stylish direction by Anne Kauffman. It’s a carefully constructed cascade at which we laugh — amused and intrigued.”
- Jesse Oxfeld, The New York Observer
“UNDENIABLY FUNNY! HANDSOMELY DONE!
Director Anne Kauffman and her designers expertly provide suitably surreal surroundings for Schwartz’s whirlwinds of words. Two excellent actors, Kate Mulgrew and Kathleen Chalfant, stylishly portray the loquacious ladies in question with considerable authority and style.”
- Michael Sommers, New Jersey Newsroom
