Significant Other Speaks Truth through humor at Lyric Arts in Anoka

Significant Other by Joshua Harmon is a play I saw performed in my first year as a Theater Blogger. That is to say I remember seeing it, remember thinking it was funny, but that’s about it. As I watched it play out at Lyric Arts the structure of the show came back to me but not the details. So the jokes felt fresh and no ones performance was competing against a previous interpretation. Lyric Arts leading man and 2024 Twin Cities Theater Blogger Award Winner for Favorite Emerging Artist, Noah Hynick, absolutely owns the role of Jordan. A late 20’s gay man living in New York City who is feeling more and more alone as his circle of friends begin to get married and have families. This is not an unusual situation in any circle of friends, and while the play really only explores it from Jordan’s perspective, there is frequently a reverse feeling for those who have paired off, they can also miss hanging out with friends who are unattached. When you have kids it can be even more of an adjustment, the difference being that instead of living in that state 24/7, it really only draws your attention occasionally, when you hear about some exciting night out. My point is that Harmon’s script will ring true whether your the last one standing single or were the first to pair off, we can all relate to some degree. It would be interesting to see Harmon write a follow up in say 20 years as the characters become empty nesters, which is accompanied by some similar feelings I can assure you.

Hynick gives a hilariously neurotic performance as Jordan, but he grounds it in an emotional rawness that connects with the audience. We laugh at him, with him, and out of our own recognition of that awkward uncertainty that most humans struggle with at some points. Whether he’s sweetly bending the ear of his Grandmother Helene or his best friend Laura, every moment feels grounded in character. Helene is played wonderfully by Miriam Monasch. The role is so well written to begin with, where we witness Jordan having a variation on the same conversation each week with his Grandma. The humor of which is matched with a feelings of genuine love that comes from those moments with our childhood heroes, which is what Grandparents are in many ways. The loom large in our childhood memories, making us the center of their worlds for these brief moments. Their weekly walk down memory lane of the picture of Jordan that is still her favorite and the stories that go along with it. There is so much truth in those scenes, the humor of repeating the same thing over and over but at the center, the sense that it’s really about the love between them. The entire cast is great but I do want to quickly acknowledge the other stand out in the cast which is Eva Gemlo as Laura. Jordan and Laura have an arguement towards the end of the show and Gemlo brings it all to that scene. Yes this is Jordan’s story, but she makes him and the audience acknowledge that everything isn’t about him. It’s one of the scenes that really raises this script to the next level, we understand what Jordan is feeling, but just because it’s his story doesn’t mean the world in which it takes place revolves around him. Gemlo’s Laura, doesn’t choose to just humor the protagonist, she stands up for her right to have her wedding be about her. I think it will be telling how each audience member responds to that scene, I think the narcissists in the audience will side with Jordan. But I’d also be curious to see if there are divides along generational lines as well. Everything Jordan is feeling is valid, but there is a time and place for sharing those feelings, and sometimes we just need to keep them to ourselves in the moment, recognize that a painful day for us, is one of the most important and special days of another persons life, and allow them to enjoy that time.

This production is directed by Max Wojtanowicz with care. He allows his actors to find their characters and trusts that the humor will work all the better for it. Michaela Lochen’s set design is very interesting, we have window frames along the back wall giving us a feel of NYC neighborhood streets. When the characters look at a painting or a picture on the wall they look out at the audience but along the back wall of the stage we get a visualization of what they are looking at. Lucas Granholm has some very effective lighting cues. I especially liked when Jordan keeps opening his computer to see the photo of a man he has a crush on, as he lifts the screen of his laptop open Granholm has a light come up on another area of the stage and we see the character there posed like the photo he’s looking at.

Significant Other is an insightful and very funny play that will delight mature audiences. This is not a play for anyone under say 16 years of age, and frankly I don’t think many under the age of 20 will have much of a chance of understanding it’s subtler truths. It’s also a really brave choice for Lyric Arts to produce and I hope audiences will reward the risk by embracing it and telling their friends to go see it. Significant Other runs through June 22nd at Lyric Arts in Anoka. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/significant-other

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows, go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

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