A play that centers around an intellectually disabled character has to tread a fine line between not mocking the person and not making the characterization “inspiration porn”, ie, exploiting the disabled person to make others feel good about themselves.
Greetings! by Tom Dudzick does an excellent job of balancing this fine line. Global Impactor Group’s rendition of Greetings!, which Tesia Nicoli directs, is in turn a fine portrayal.
Corey Breiner as Mickey Gorski does a fantastic job of portraying the intellectually disabled young man who shocks his family at the end of Act I.
His portrayal is accurate without being offensive.
People in a disabled person’s life play a major role in how the person will develop.
To that end, the other actors do a good job as well.
Bill Joachim is strong as the sarcastic, doubting (of his son’s capabilities) father, Philip.
Genia Miller is touching as the loving, doting mother, Emily, who never gives up on her son.
Both show effectively that each character loves his and her son deeply, but express it in different ways- Philip by accepting that his son is who he is, and Emily by believing in her son and believing that he can change.
Thomas Rush as Andy, Mickey’s brother, is the perfect blend of loving and bantering.
Tara Short as Andy’s fiancee, makes an amazing transformation from patronizing Mickey when she first meets him to advocating for him and believing in his abilities.
The second most important aspect of this play deals with the conflict between doubt and faith, and also grapples with the question, “Can two people’s vastly different beliefs both be right, or will one belief naturally be right and the other naturally be wrong'”
This conflict comes to light when Mickey surprises his family by talking more than he’s ever talked in his life.
Not only does he string together sentences, which he has never done before, but the big shocker is that his first string of sentences are of a philosophical nature.
Again, the cast does a great job in dealing with this part of the story.
Philip is the strict Catholic father who cannot accept the idea that others have beliefs different from his, and that those beliefs may be equally valid.
Emily is also strongly religious and also critical of any belief different to her own, but to her credit, she tries to understand.
Both Joachim’s and Miller’s portrayals were very well done and believable.
Andy is still a Christian (albeit possibly no longer Catholic- the play was not really clear on this), and Randi is a Jewish woman-turned atheist.
Both Rush’s and Short’s portrayals of the journey of their relationship--- from defending it to Andy’s parents, to questioning whether it can actually work out since both their beliefs are so vastly different, to resolving their doubts and affirming that their relationship will in fact work out--- were very convincing.
Greetings! is an experience that will make you question your beliefs.
Tickets are $18 for adults; $16 for seniors and students; and $15 for matinee performances.
Remaining shows are November 9 and 10 as 7:30 pm and November 11 at 2 pm.
For information, go to https://squareup.com/market/global-impactors-group-llc