Two plays on Theatre Row

Between 9th and 11th avenues on 42nd Street is a treasure of small off-Broadway theaters called Theatre Row. It's a place to see a variety of plays at a relatively modest cost, and there's no bad seat.

Some of the plays are marvelous; some you can skip. The problem is that often these shows are limited runs, so if you hear of something good, or better yet, are adventurous and want to take a chance, move quickly to get tickets.

"Russian Transport" stars Janeane Garofalo as Diana, a Russian mother who's alternatively disparaging and nurturing her children as she seeks to provide them with the American Dream.

Her 14-year-old daughter Mira (Sarah Steele) is begging to go to Europe for the summer, and although she can get a scholarship, the mother remains intractable.

Diana’s brother Boris (Morgan Spector) comes from Russia to live with the family and, at first he's a typical oafish greenhorn, with outdated clothing and expressions. Boris quickly learns American ways and emerges as a sinister figure when he hires his nephew Alex to make deliveries for him.

Alex (Raviv Ullman) is shocked when he realizes his uncle is transporting young girls from Russia who naively believe that they will become models and actresses. The girls are his sister's age (made abundantly clear to the audience since the girls are all played by Steele who is more effective as the slightly flirtatious girls than she is as the sexually-curious Mira)

Spector looms over his niece and nephew and as a visual treat for the audience is constantly taking his shirt off. He threatens his nephew and kisses Mira.

When Alex’s father learns what’s his son is doing, he kicks his son out of the house. Yet sadly, the real villain is the mother who, in her quest for the American Dream, tacitly allows her son to be involved in the prostitution trade and to prey on young girls. Suddenly we understand why the mother wants to keep her own daughter very close at hand.

This is a different role for Garofalo, who is known for her satiric persona. She shows energy and passion. All actors go in and out of Russian, which I found impressive until my companion, a linguist, noted that their accents weren't very good. Despite the darkness of the subject, there's humor and familiarity in "Russian Transport," especially in the interpersonal family relationships. The show really makes you question The American Dream. You can make your fortune but at what cost?

In a smaller space on Theater Row is the Keen Company’s production of "Painting Churches," the play that won a Pulitzer Prize nomination for playwright Tina Howe in 1982. It stars the wonderful Kathleen Chalfant as Fanny and a stellar John Cunningham as Gardner, her husband.

After many years, the Churches are downsizing, moving from their townhouse on Beacon Hill to their small beach home in Cape Cod.

When the play opens, Fanny is packing her mother’s silver and reminiscing aloud. Occasionally, in a singsong voice, she shouts out to Gardner who’s offstage supposedly working on his book of poetic criticism. Although Fanny reminds Gardner that their move is predicated on finances, another more pressing issue becomes quite apparent. The award-winning poet-scholar Gardner is losing his mental faculties.

Their adult artist daughter Mags (Kate Turnbull) comes to help them pack, but, more importantly for her, to paint her parents’ portraits. As soon as she arrives, the family falls into its typical dynamic; Gardner is the peacekeeper who praises his daughter while Fanny immediately puts down Mags' clothing and hair.

Like many children, Mags reverts to certain child-like behavior when she returns home. The elderly couple is intelligent, quirky, and funny. When Mags talks to them about posing for a portrait, they begin to imitate famous pictures (The Pieta, American Gothic). Long before Mags accepts it, the audience realizes that Gardner is growing increasingly forgetful as he repeats things, asks the same questions and wears layers of clothing. Mags scolds her mother for making fun of her father who she refers to as "abstracted."

The three performers are excellent, Chalfant, with her funny hats and playful ways, Cunningham as the serious scholar and Turnbull as the child-adult. The personal, touching story gets the careful attention it deserves in the intimacy of the small Clurman Theater. It’s a poignant and all too familiar story of the roles reversing and the child realizing the mortality of her parents.

The play is serious yet humorous, harsh but touching. See it soon because like many of the other works at Theatre Row, "Painting Churches" is a limited run.