THE SOUND INSIDE
From the little bit that I had read about The Sound Inside, (which declared this play to be a “thriller,” a “psychological mystery,” and a “twisting mystery,”) playing now at the Pasadena Playhouse, (after a successful Broadway run four years ago,) I erroneously expected this play to be a mystery, along the line of last year’s wonderful 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Ahmanson. But it is definitely not that. So I was a tad disappointed because mystery, thriller, and the like are my jams.
Amy Brenneman and Anders Keith. Photo by Mike Palma, as is the one at the top of this review.
But I don’t really know what genre I would put this play in, other than “drama.” Perhaps human interest? Character study? Something to make audiences feel better about our own lives? The Pasadena Playhouse always puts on quality productions, so you can’t really ever go wrong there. (And the upcoming shows look to be fabulous!)
The writing by Adam Rapp, performances by Amy Brenneman and newcomer Anders Keith, and excellent utilitarian set by Tesshi Nakagawa, (although the giant head on the guy right in front me blocked my view of two of the areas used,) are interesting enough. But The Sound Inside is just not my cup of tea for a few reasons, although my fellow audience members totally appreciated it.
The main topics involved are why I ended up not loving the play, but I can’t list them here because that would tell you the direction the play takes, and, as usual, I don’t want to ruin anything for you. As with all theatre, I feel that everyone has to experience The Sound Inside for themselves. The one thing I will tell you, since it’s mentioned in the lengthy monologue at the top of the show, is that if you can’t bear hearing brutal details about cancer, (or if you’re a bit overly sensitive about sadness in life, in general, as I am,) this may not be the show for you.
Amy Brenneman. Photo by Mike Palma.
But there is so much more to it than that. For fans of the old television shows Judging Amy and Private Practice, and newer ones The Leftovers and The Old Man, you will be happy to see Amy Brenneman again. And for fans of Frasier who are looking forward to the new version, Anders Keith, who plays the young Yale student here, will be featured on it. I’ve never seen any of those TV series, (and never even heard of Amy’s last two,) so I was able to view Amy and Anders as the characters rather than actors, which is always a good thing.
My friend Nina, who saw this play with me, (and is so much more mentally stable and forgiving than I,) really appreciated not only the excellent performances, but seeing honest human conditions portrayed. She explained, “Most people in our lives talk about only the little things. We ask each other how we’re doing, but we don’t necessarily open up about what’s really going on in our lives.” (I guess she hasn’t met me!)
She continued, “That’s why theatre is so important. It’s such a gift to be able to see plays like The Sound Inside, which deals with cancer. I’m sure that just about everybody in the Playhouse that night has been through it on some level, yet to talk about it like that is so rare. So when we watch theatre like that, we get to take in the under-workings of human beings, and to witness that is really unique.”
I add to those sentiments only: what she said.
I also spoke to an audience member I know, who has lived through some of the depressing parts of that scenario herself, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that, despite her own sad experiences, she still enjoyed the play.
What I enjoyed most is the many cerebrally amusing lines. With the main narrative being about a Yale creative writing professor and her young student, who often discuss Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, (which I always assume only the hardiest among us have read,) I have a feeling much of this play will be appreciated more by intellectuals, as opposed to, say, fans of Pete Davidson movies.
An adorable display, which pertains to the show, (and invites us to type a line or two,) on the Pasadena Playhouse patio. Photo by Karen Salkin.
I loved one particular line from the professor, with which I totally identify: “At some point, I just stopped liking people.” That is exactly how I feel. As a matter of fact, when I told a friend of mine that I don’t like people anymore, and that I caught that realization from a mutual male pal who always says that, she got indignant and said, “I started that!” We just started laughing at the idea that anyone wanted credit for not liking people anymore. But at least the three of us like each other, so there’s that. (Or do we? Now that is a mystery!)
As a former teacher myself, (who is also from an entire family of English and Speech teachers and professors,) and in keeping with the play’s theme of educating, I have to share this one lesson that the production needs, (as does most of the world!) The professor in the show says she’s going to “lay down on the bed,” instead of the correct, “…lie down…!” And she says it more than once! I doubt that a Yale writing professor would use lay versus lie incorrectly. Lay is the past tense of lie, so you can’t tell someone to lay anywhere! You can say, “I lay on the bed last night,” (or any time in the past,) as long as it happened in the past, but you cannot use it for present and future tenses!
[Note: For further clarification, you lay something or someone down, as on a surface, so you can say, “Go lay your iPhone down.” But when you’re talking about someone moving his or her body into a recumbent position, the word is definitely “lie.”]
That is one of my word usage pet peeves; it’s bad enough that so many lay people, (get what I did there?,) refuse to learn this simple rule, (did they not attend grammar school?,) but I cannot imagine that a writing professor anywhere, no less at an Ivy League school, would not know the difference!
So now that I’ve enlightened all concerned, I hope they will make that change to the script right away. That error is like nails on a chalkboard to those of us who know proper grammar. Unless that’s one of the portended plot twists in The Sound Inside—that she’s an educator who doesn’t know a basic rule of grammar.
Alfred Molina, (at the front of the auditorium,) addressing the Pasadena Playhouse audience this week. Photo by Karen Salkin.
As to the Pasadena Playhouse, which is one of my favorite theatres of all time, Nina and I were really surprised and happy that the place was full on what my mother would call “a plain little Tuesday night.” We love seeing Angelenos support culture like that.
Another fun surprise was that none other than popular actor Alfred Molina, who is a recent addition to the Pasadena Playhouse Board of Trustees, gave the opening greeting to the audience that night! That alone was worth the price of admission!
The Sound Inside running through October 1, 2023
Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena
626-356-7529 www.pasadenaplayhouse.org
