Sylvia Plath Haunts 'sylvia Sylvia Sylvia,' An Ambitious But Shapeless New Work, At Geffen Playhouse

Poor Sylvia Plath has recovered small remainder successful nan afterlife.

The New Yorker’s Janet Malcolm had prime words for nan service of Plath’s biographers. She likened this type of writer to “the master burglar, breaking into a house, rifling done definite drawers that he has bully logic to deliberation incorporate nan jewelry and money, and triumphantly base his loot away.”

Plath, nan deserted woman of chap writer Ted Hughes, mother of 2 young children, died by termination astatine property 30, leaving down a postulation of poems that anatomized her intelligence descent successful scorching connection that secured a imperishable spot successful American letters. More than 60 years person passed since her decease successful 1963, yet nan literate story that has taken nan sanction Sylvia Plath lives on.

I confess I’m not impervious to nan posthumous allure. When visiting friends who were staying successful nan Primrose Hill area of London a fewer years ago, I would walk by nan level that Plath shared pinch her hubby location and look wonderingly astatine nan municipality house, adorned pinch a bluish plaque commemorating its erstwhile resident.

“Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia,” a caller play by Beth Hyland that opened Thursday astatine nan Geffen Playhouse, is group successful a different flat that nan mates shared. This cozily claustrophobic location is located successful Boston’s historical Beacon Hill territory successful nan play earlier they had children and were striving anxiously to recognize their early promise.

As Sylvia (Marianna Gailus) and Ted (Cillian O’Sullivan) face nan problems that will yet thrust them apart, 2 modern joined writers who person taken up residence astatine nan Boston reside grapple pinch galore of nan aforesaid issues (marital discord, competitory egos and intelligence wellness woes) arsenic their much celebrated literate predecessors.

World premieres are risky, and nan penning for this 1 hasn’t yet settled. The play’s divided focus, moving betwixt 1958 and nan present, is simply a motion of conceptual ambition. But Hyland struggles to find nan pacing and hit of her analyzable vision.

Sally (Midori Francis), a writer whose first book was a large deed but whose 2nd book is agelong overdue, and Theo (Noah Keyishian), who conscionable recovered retired he won a awesome literate prize for his first caller and is now up for a game-changing occupation astatine Columbia University, are astatine different points successful their careers. Sally is processing some nan daze of a miscarriage and her ambivalence astir her marriage.

She’s besides worried that her patient is going to make her salary backmost nan beforehand for nan book astir Plath and Hughes that she’s been incapable to make immoderate headway on. “I person to decorativeness nan draft,” she tells Theo. “If I can’t do that erstwhile I’m surviving successful their apartment, I should honestly conscionable termination myself.”

Clearly, Sally is having a difficult clip holding it together. The precarious authorities of her mind forces america to mobility whether Sylvia and Ted are ghosts, hallucinations aliases literate inventions sprung to life. But these characters are initially presented arsenic objectively real. We meet them earlier we meet Sally and Theo, and whether they are figments aliases not, they are unmistakably haunting nan caller caretaker who’s penning astir them.

Unfortunately, these illustrious figures are severely written and stiffly played. O’Sullivan can’t support Ted’s accent straight, and Gailus seems to beryllium offering a Ryan Murphy type of Plath.

Marianna Gailus, left, and Cillian O’Sullivan successful “Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Sally whitethorn beryllium struggling to springiness Sylvia and Ted life connected nan page, but Hyland is having her ain problem ushering them to nan stage. The connection “factitious” kept coming to mind. Artificiality mightiness beryllium nan point, but it’s not 1 that gives overmuch pleasance successful nan theater.

Who wants to beryllium done a fictitious novelist’s clumsy drafts? The scenes betwixt Sally and Theo are much convincing, but nan move betwixt them grinds connected snappishly. Theo tries his champion to beryllium a delicate and supportive husband, but Sally can’t look to get what she needs from him. And arsenic her matrimony and literate profession autumn apart, her psychiatric problems intensify.

Writing successful a hopeless junk-food-fueled all-nighter, Sally appears to person entered a manic phase. Theo, terrified that she mightiness make different termination attempt, looks connected helplessly. Their small, spare yet tasteful flat (the activity of nan corporate Studio Bent) turns into a marital unit cooker arsenic Theo’s fortunes emergence and Sally’s self-belief craters.

Hyland captures nan parallels betwixt nan 2 couples. Her Ted is simply a patriarchal monster, controlling, moody and sexually malignant. Theo is acold much psychologically evolved, but he has his ain unsighted spots that provoke Sally, who’s much emancipated than Sylvia but little professionally assured and conscionable arsenic unstable.

The times are vastly different, but nan equilibrium of powerfulness betwixt these joined writers remains precarious. There mightiness beryllium a fascinating play here, but nan amorphous scenes that Hyland provides deficiency a melodramatic done line.

As nan play flounders, head Jo Bonney casts astir for solutions. A playful shade communicative that has Sylvia entering and exiting done nan refrigerator takes a bloody turn. As Sally spirals, nan group turns crimson. This detour into scary is only temporary, but there’s nary clear destination successful sight.

The unstoppable unit of Sally’s resentment and nan immovable entity of Theo’s perseverance are not an perfect melodramatic combination. Francis bravely doesn’t soften Sally’s prickly nature, but she doesn’t springiness america overmuch logic to sympathize pinch her characteristic either. Keyishian’s gentle Theo is truthful solicitous that Sally’s abrasiveness originates to consciousness abusive, not to opportunity theatrically off-putting. Perhaps that excessively is intentional. But conscionable arsenic there’s a quality betwixt depicting chaos and depicting chaotically, there’s a quality betwixt presenting theatergoers pinch a realistic image of intelligence unwellness and driving an assemblage nuts.

Ted is simply a animation creep pinch an Oxbridge hauteur, but Theo’s shortcomings whitethorn beryllium excessively subtly rendered for a play that cries retired for much definition. (Even his betrayal, involving nan usage of backstage marital worldly for literate purposes, seems equivocal.)

Hyland can’t resoluteness her shapeless play, truthful she has Sally talk her measurement into nan early successful a rambling speech that’s a complete cop-out.

Sylvia warned Sally that if she tried to constitute astir her, she would do everything successful her powerfulness to extremity her. The shade of Plath, however, has thing to interest about. “Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia” conks retired connected its own.