REVIEW: ‘If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet’ looks all wet

Jake Gyllenhaal handsomely makes his U.S. stage debut in a rather damp family drama

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

OFF BROADWAY REVIEW

Movie hunk Jake Gyllenhaal ably makes his U.S. stage debut in “If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet,” a new drama about a troubled British family that literally proves to be all wet.

During the 90-minute play’s climax, a tidal surge of overflowing emotions (and other significances) floods the stage in ankle-deep water, meaningfully swamping the flotsam of domestic life. Really.

Whether this aquatic stunt floats or sinks the delicate boat of British author Nick Payne’s 2009 drama is open to debate. Michael Longhurst, the director of Roundabout Theater’s American premiere, which opened on Thursday at the Steinberg Center, gives the play one mighty fancy production, that’s for sure.

Oh, but you probably want to know mostly what Gyllenhaal, the Academy Award nominee of “Brokeback Mountain” fame, is doing here.

He portrays Terry, the long-absent, vagabond uncle of Anna (Annie Funke), an obese and sullen 15-year-old who is being badly bullied at school. The morose Anna’s troubles partly reflect the near-total neglect of her father George (Brian F. O’Byrne), an environmental activist absorbed in saving the polar ice caps.

Yeah, that awfully symbolic tsunami further signifies the outcome of society’s indifference to environmental issues even as George’s ecological preoccupation ironically drowns out any personal consideration for his long-suffering wife Fiona (Michelle Gomez) and their miserable daughter.

The unexpected arrival of the foul-mouthed, useless but rather adorable Terry for a visit more or less leads to the major family meltdown that inundates the stage. A scruffy man-child who is nursing long-term heartbreak, Terry is a juicy supporting role that a relaxed Gyllenhaal embodies agreeably enough, using plenty of arms-splaying gestures to indicate the character’s inability to verbally express himself.

In contrast to Gyllenhaal’s charming performance, O’Byrne looks subdued, Gomez seems sharp and Funke is inscrutable.

The playwright’s stuttering or fragmentary dialogue stresses the inarticulate nature of the characters whose tensions are compounded by their lack of communication. In some ways a surprisingly sophisticated drama by a promising young author (Payne was 25 when he wrote it), “If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet” disappointingly subsides into a so-what conclusion following its splashy climax.

Although Longhurst’s staging looks terribly busy, his production is artfully realized by Beowulf Boritt (a go-to designer for unorthodox settings), who begins the play with an impressive rain effect that signals the waterworks that eventually will spill.

“If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet” continues through Nov. 25 at the Steinberg Center, 111 W. 46th St., New York. Call (212) 719-1300 or visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.