REVIEW: Hell Meets Henry Halfway

There are some shows that arrive with such anticipation that you can barely contain yourself as you watch the calendar click by, leading up to the date shown on your ticket. For those shows, you arrive at the theater early, dutifully read the program notes, and triple check your cell phone to ensure that the ringer is off so that your experience is not muddled by an unfortunate ring or vibration.

Then there are shows that you just don’t care about, but you feel like you should see them anyway. Often, these shows are introduced with fanfare from the producing house, who trumpets the arrival of an imported theatre troupe known for “physical performances that defy easy categorization.”

Ladies and gentlemen! The Woolly Mammoth Theater Company proudly presents: The Philadelphia-based Pig Iron Theatre Company and their Obie Award-winning Hell Meets Henry Halfway!

I was eager to see this production, and when Sunday evening finally rolled around, I was excited enough to arrive at the theater early, read the program notes, and settle in for a fine performance.

I could not have been more disappointed by the reality that soon set in.

Hell Meets Henry Halfway is a bizarre production. I’m not sure what happened, who the characters were, or what exactly it all meant. The two-hour performance featured a cast of over-the-top characters—all seemingly stuck somewhere between a community theatre production of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and a sketch from the Carol Burnett Show.

The cast however, bears little responsibility for this show’s annoying and disjointed style. For the most part, their performances are good – some are even exceptional. Steve Cuiffo, in the role of Dr. Peter Hincz, the mysterious doctor, brings comic timing which borders on genius. Other notables are Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel as Marian Walchak, the not-so-qualified (or athletic) tennis coach, and Sarah Sanford as Maya Okholovska, whose brooding style reminds you every spoiled child turned adult you’ve known.

The actors are not to blame here. The show is simply flawed.

After two confusing hours, (and two hours listening to a methodic thumping that is part of the never-ending sound design), I was left wondering what I had seen, and WHY it was put on a stage in the first place.

And, I had a headache to boot. Thanks Woolly.

Hell Meets Henry Halfway, text by Adriano Shaplin, after Possessed by Witold Gombrowicz, directed by Dan Rothenberg, created and conceived by Pig Iron Theatre Company. The cast includes: Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel, Steve Cuiffo, Bel Garcia, Sarah Sanford, James Sugg, and Dito van Reigersberg. Performances continue through March 1.