Days To Come

Days to Come is playing at Theatre Row located at 410 West 42nd street. It runs two hours with one intermission. The play closes on October 6, 2018.

Lillian Hellman (June 20, 1905-June 30, 1984) was the playwright. Among the plays she is known for are Watch on the Rhine, The Little Foxes and The Children’s Hour. She wrote several screen plays. Lillian was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on the American Actives (1947-1952).

This play had its Broadway debut on December 15, 1936 at the Vanderbilt Theatre. It closed after seven performances.

The place is Callom, Ohio: a small town in Cleveland.

The maid Lucy (Betsy Hoggs) is tiding up. Another employee Hannah (Kim Martin-Cotton) is picking flowers in the garden and putting them in vases.

When Cora Rodman (Mary Bacon) comes in the room and moves one of the vases as Lucy predicated.

Juliet Rodman (Janie Brookshire) comes into the room. She is married to Cora’s brother Andrew (Larry Bull). Cora leaves. Henry Elliott (Ted Deasy) comes into the room and goes straight to the desk and opens a letter, you think for a moment that he is Juliet’s husband but he’s not. Henry is the family lawyer and Juliet’s lover. She is breaking off the affair.

There is a strike in the factor the family owns. They make brushes.

Tomas Firth (Chris Henry Coffey) works in the factory. He comes to the house with Leo Whalen (Roderick Hill) who is a union organizer.

Andrew tells Thomas things are bad, that he can only pay him 60 cents an hour. Thomas says no one can live on that. Andrew won’t budge, claiming times are hard for him right now. Thomas and Leo are not happy when they leave.

Henry has hired strike breakers. Dam Wilkie (Dan Daily) arrives and tells them he has men in the factory. The two men with him Mossie Dowel (Geoffrey Allen Murphy) and Joe Easter (Eran Zen) will be in the house to protect the family. All they do is play cards. Mossie cheats and keeps Joes money. Joe wants his money back. When Mossie won’t give Joe back his money, Joe kills him.

Julies tells Andrew she is going for a walk despite the cold. She visits Leo at the office of the strikers, which is located in an alley. Leo gives her a drink. She comes on to him. He asks her to leave. When she’s about to leave Mossie body is dumped there. Leo is blame for the murder.

Back in Rodman’s living room things heat up. We learn more about the characters, it’s a little too late and by this time who cares. The characters are bland in the first act. You don’t feel any thing for them. Whether you like or dislike them.

This is the first Mint Theater production I did not like. Well I did like the set.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich

Photos by Annazer

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for photos. Click on photos for this and other shows.