Theatre Blogger: ALL THE WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU: Show Review by Robin Gorman Newman

Photo credit: Joan Marcus

I have been a fan of the multiple award-winning Judith Light from her days on the soap opera One Life to Live.  And, since then, I’ve seen her in various stage roles, and she always impresses.  Her latest appearance, however, in Neil LaBute ALL THE WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU is a tour de force to be reckoned with and potentially her strongest portrayal to date.  This one woman show packs an emotional punch.

Light plays Mrs. Johnson a high school English teacher and guidance counselor who had an affair with a high school student that she regretted, only because of the outcome, but not because of the sexual passion that she felt she deserved to experience in a her lifetime.  She initiated the illicit dalliance because her attorney husband was leaving her less than fulfilled in their bedroom, and there was tension between them because of their fertility challenges.

It is painful watching her emotional pain and somewhat painful getting through this 60 minute, no intermission production.  She addresses the audience the entire time, spilling her guts, as she meanders uncomfortably throughout her school office.  And, perhaps that is the point.  For us to experience the discomfort that she does, but it ultimately grows thin.

We feel for her.  At times we cheer for her quest to find happiness. But, ultimately, we gasp and grasp that her actions were wrong and regretful.  And, suffering resulted….enough suffering to last a lifetime.

Light wears her broken heart on her sleeve and deserves accolades for so skillfully and transparently capturing this broken character.  Neil LaBute excels at making the audience squirm, and this work is in keeping with his ongoing creative efforts to create intense portraits of people baring the darkness of their souls.

ALL THE WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU, an MCC production, directed by Leigh Silverman, is at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.