Review: Holding On to Holden at the New Ohio Theatre

One can only imagine why a person chooses to write, filling the desolate borders of blank pages with untold stories; one can only imagine the reasons. It probably more often than not has to do with a need to create and less so the recognition or desire to see what comes of it. To dedicate a life to words and giving them the power of the soul's expression is something truly special, especially when fact and creation collide in a beautifully turbulent way.

Holden, written and directed by Anisa George, is the first time an audience can see reality and fiction so intertwined to tell the various stories of a single life, shown by characters who are, to quote Fitzgerald for a moment, "within and without." Now being performed at the New Ohio Theatre, Holden brings about the complexities of late author J.D. Salinger's life through personal issues that arose because of those words he shared with the world...and those he chose not to.

For those of you like me who are unfamiliar with J.D. Salinger's personal life, Holden asks people like us to not only understand the turbulent life this man lived in the seclusion of his own home, but also the unrelenting troubles within his own mind. We are challenged to not only comprehend but to empathize with something many of us are unfamiliar with: the mind of a man tormented by war and haunted by thoughts which wrack a tired yet persistent man to create more. This all stems from what must have been no less than frightening moments in Salinger's existence - moments that happen even before this play is set.

After returning from war, Salinger was hospitalized for the trauma he endured out on the battlefield; afterwards, he retreaTed Further and further away from people until he left New York altogether and secluded himself to his house in New Hampshire. Even with the release of The Catcher in the Rye bringing him much fame as a literary icon, he slowly moved away from publishing and giving his work over to the public eye. For the purpose of this play, they were his memories alone to keep.

What George creates by encompassing not only the facts of Salinger's life, but of those affected by him, is brilliant. As writer and director, she makes the audience question what is happening while this compelling plot is taking place; once what is going on is acknowledged, then the audience actually has to figure out what all of this "feels" like. Should we feel sorry for this man, should we worry, should we make some kind of judgment about him or simply let the story play out in its own way? Is any of this actually real?

Reminiscent of Sartre's No Exit (which I really appreciate), Holden begins with Salinger in the midst of three other characters, all asleep; at first, it seems to take the plot of a novel right off the pages, but it immediately switches back to a wicked sort of reality. These three men wake up and rush to look at Salinger's work, being careful not to wake him; once Salinger is awake though, he hasn't any knowledge that these three are in the room with him. As he resume his days of writing, in a chain of God knows how many days doing the same thing, the audience discovers who these men are as they reflect on both the purpose they have for being there and their desire to get Salinger through the ending of his current manuscript.

Mark David Chapman, the man who was obsessed with and murdered John Lennon, is placed in a room with the man responsible for almost claiming President Ronald Reagan's life, John Hinkley, Jr. The third character, a bit younger and more naïve than the others, is not quite sure why he is trapped in the hell that is Salinger's room. Three characters that are both figments of the imagination but people so affected by Salinger and his words occupy the room where Salinger suffer and leave more often than he sits and writes.

These characters become the manifestation of all that Salinger must have been experiencing in the confines of his own mind. They are verbally abusive, they calmly sit and write down their own thoughts, they wrestle and wreak havoc on the room and everything in it. They question their purpose and why they are trapped, then take it out on each other for all their indecision. It is the equivalent of watching people out on a battlefield, in the midst of chaos, trying to fight their way through the muck of warfare while they strive to move forward with their lives. In this case though, Salinger, who enters and exists the room a crude number of times to escape, is what these characters looked forward to; although, it is probably not what Salinger looked forward to upon coming home.

These three men have purpose so long as their "creator" is writing, but they cannot take the confinement - the perpetual warfare between themselves, of providing Salinger with the mental strength to write and most surprisingly, to persuade him that his work should be shared with the world. With this will they most likely be freed from their involvement with this man, from his conscience or theirs, or whatever it is that keeps them locked away as his writings are stored in a safe, uncertain to see beyond the front door.

This is what Holden does: it opens that door to an audience who can only see the result of this man's efforts but not what he must have been plagued with in the attempt. It makes me smile to see how much thought and work George must have put into this show to make it what it is, as it really is a great conglomerate of ideas that work wonders.

Jaime Maseda as Chapman, Matteo Scammell as Zev, Scott R. Sheppard as Hinkley, Bill George as Salinger and George Truman as Peggy all do a wonderful job in bringing this show to the degree of life it attains. Especially Peggy, who was apparently very nervous about this show - you did a great job! There is so much about this show that requires extreme recognition of detail and sticking to the facts while also just letting loose and allowing almost animalistic instincts to take over, all of which these actors clearly understand. They are human beings - they write, create, argue, question, all while not truly there and not off the hook quite yet for the things they've done. It's brilliant.

Kudos to Madeline Charne as/on Stage Manager/dramaturgy, Nick Benacerraf as Scenic Designer, Seth Reiser on light design, Alex Bechtel on sound design, Rebecca Kanach as Costume Designer and Cem Ozdeniz on props for a wonderful job offstage.

When I said that writers typically have more significant reasons for placing words on a page, there is hardly a show better to depict how an author is his characters, his plot, his LIFe; this is what Holden is. It is truly a wonderful, unique experience that brings theater to its finest element and will undoubtedly give us each something worthwhile to think about.

Holden, in association with George & Co, began performances at the New Ohio Theatre (located at 154 Christopher Street in the West Village) on January 5th and will continue thru the 14th. Tickets are $25 for general seating and may be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (866) 811.4111 or by visiting here. The performance schedule is as follows: 1/12 @ 8 pm, 1/13 @ 10 pm and 1/14 @ 4 pm and 8 pm. Holden runs 90 minutes without an intermission.

Enjoy the show!

Photo Credit: plate3.com