Albee's "Me, Myself & I" is meta-theatrical, absurd

Though he is almost 80 years old, Albee proves he is still raring to go. "Me, Myself & I," directed by McCarter Artistic Director Emily Mann, is a perfect example of Albee's unique writing style. Albee consistently pushes the envelope, forcing the audience outside its comfort zone with absurd, surrealistic circumstances. His work is colored with sharp, biting dialogue that is both witty and deceptive.

"Me, Myself & I" is a play about confusion, ambiguity of meaning and irony. One of the characters sums up the play in exasperation: "We have enough ambiguity around here!"

At the beginning of the play, we learn that middle-aged Mother, played by "Touched by an Angel" actress Tyne Daly, has named her 28-year-old twin sons "OTTO" (Michael Esper) and "otto" (Colin Donnell), and that she has never been able to tell the two apart. OTTO is the evil son; otto is the good son. OTTO announces he is going to become Chinese, and adds that he has decided that otto no longer exists. OTTO explains patiently to otto that he exists but is no longer his brother, so therefore (as if it weren't obvious) otto doesn't exist. otto searches frantically for confirmation of his existence from his girlfriend Maureen (Charlotte Parry), while Mother clings desperately to her longtime lover, Dr., played by Brian Murray, a regular in productions of Albee's works.

The set is designed in stark contrast to the play's content: While "Me, Myself & I" is fiery and bursting with energy, the stage is a huge, cavernous, gray-white space with only a single queen bed in the first act and two twin beds in the second act. The characters' lives seem to be centered on the concept of the bed and its implications. A few carefully placed thin wires frame the space, making the characters' world seem tenuous and fragile yet deliberate.

Lighting is harsh and strong, as if the characters, fully exposed and vulnerable, should be examined by the audience. Each scene is bookended with a loud clang and a quick blackout, which repeatedly jolt the audience.

This play is meta-theatrical. Characters comment on the fact that they're performing a scene. They cue spotlights. They abandon any attempt at reality by referring to what is taking place offstage. They address the audience directly, commenting on the play or explaining the reason for a theatrical device. They step out of scenes and become audience members, passively watching a scene be performed. In reference to a set change, one character says, "Things just vanish around this place." Later a character comments on the lack of set change: "This looks like everywhere else." There is a hyperawareness of the actors' environment and of the audience's presence.

Albee's writing is as agile and clever as ever. His dialogue is smart and cunning, and he imbues each character with a unique, clearly defined voice. At times, however, the writing is a bit too slick, self-aware and self-indulgent. Every so often, it gets caught up in its own witty self-contradictions and leaves the audience perplexed and frustrated. It is much more satisfying to focus on the characters' journeys than to try to disentangle the vague meaning of the play as a whole.

The cast is generally strong. Daly gives a solid performance. Her portrayal of Mother portrays her as both kooky and heart-wrenchingly vulnerable. Esper also gives a noteworthy performance. While he is not at all likeable, he is not meant to be. His character is fully developed, and even within the absurd context of the play, he is consistently believable.

In an interview printed in the program for "Me, Myself & I," Albee said, "A play is, after all, about everything that happens to the characters from the beginning of the play to the end and (unless the author has killed them all off by curtain) the characters' lives before the play begins and after it ends." With "Me, Myself & I," Albee creates a handful of characters that are, despite the absurd world they live in, intensely fascinating and lovable for all their quirks. Though it may be bumpy, Albee takes the audience on an enjoyable ride through a bizarre world where the only thing that is certain is uncertainty.

"Me, Myself & I"