On and Off Broadway

'This is Our Youth'

A Review by Elyse Trevers

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Despite glowing reviews for the cast and play, the intimate Cort Theater seemed strangely empty when I saw This Is Our Youth the other night. Is it that the 20-somethings, the group the subject matter should appeal to, can’t afford tickets? Is it that the stars, Michael Cera (Superbad, Arrested Development, Juno) and Tavi Gevinson (editor-in-chief of Rookie and other teen publications), aren’t the box office draws the producers anticipated? In any case, it looked as though the theater was about half full.

The play centers on three young, disenchanted New Yorkers with no sense of direction. Their present is aimless and the future, as represented by their parents, seems bleak. At the beginning, Warren (Cera) has a fight with his abusive father and steals $15,000 from him. He has nowhere to go and turns to his childhood friend Dennis (Kieran Culkin) who lives in an apartment paid for by his parents and who makes money dealing in drugs. Much of the play is concerned with Warren trying to replace the money he’s already spent. Of the three main characters, only Jessica (Gevinson) is attending college but she is living at home with her mother.

The relationship between Warren and Dennis is jarring with Dennis continually insulting and belittling his high school chum. Warren is awkward and clumsy, as if he’s not yet at ease with his body. Cera is good as the gawky young man with his hands flailing in the air and his often vapid expression. He’s dorky and is reminiscent of his movie characters. Although very cute, Gevinson is a disappointing actress. She shouts almost every word and pauses in unnatural places. It is as if someone told her to project to the people sitting in the back row. There weren’t many teenage girls in the audience so the inclusion of this recent high school graduate to attract ticket buyers may have backfired. Most impressive of the cast is Kieran Culkin. Heavy-lidded and dark-haired with a swagger and good looks, he’s smart and quick witted. He’s a good contrast to Cera’s weak-willed Warren.

Although the casting is designed to attract younger viewers, the play is more appropriate for older viewers. Kenneth Lonergan’s play reminds one of the uncertainty of the future as college age people get out into the world. Here, even the affluent ones face an uncertain future. What they see modeled before them by the somewhat dysfunctional parents is unpleasant, so they live day to day in a drug haze. But sadly by the end, there still seems to be no promise.