Privilege Meets Its Reckoning in ‘Aftermath’

The resentful or self-flagellating rich kid is a time-honored trope. Now we have a brand new model off-Broadway. Meet Josh Goldman, the central figure in David Zax’s new play, “Aftermath.” The son of a successful Washington lobbyist, Josh attended what his dad, Allan, describes as “this hippie school where they taught him all about the horrors of inequality. For 40 grand a year.”Now in his late 20s, Josh is determined to pursue a more virtuous path than Allan has. In contrast to many others like him, in fiction and in life, Josh, a budding journalist, at least seems to be walking the walk: As the play opens, in September 2011, he has returned home after having been kidnapped and held by the Taliban while pursuing a story in Afghanistan. Josh, played here by Danny Kornfeld — who made a charming Broadway debut three years ago in the musical “Harmony”— is recovering under the watchful eyes of his father and mother, Linda, who keeps referencing a ten-week “schedule” recommended by a doctor, presumably a psychiatrist or psychologist. But as both parents have noticed, with alarm, Josh has started to regrow his beard, a sign that he wants to return to a less cushy, more dangerous setting.A visit from an Afghan-British reporter named Mina, who befriended Josh during his travels and apparently supported his family during his ordeal, becomes the catalyst for arguments and, eventually, for revelations that make “Aftermath,” after a slow start, more engaging and intriguing. A journalist himself, Mr. Zax shows a greater flair here for storytelling structure than he does for dialogue. Early exchanges between Josh and his parents can be painfully boilerplate; when Allan and Linda debate whether having Mina over is a good idea, they’re providing exposition and explaining contemporary literature on trauma, in the most obvious terms in both cases.Colton Pometta’s earnest, rather stiff direction doesn’t help matters. Jill Stern, who plays Linda, suffers the most: Her line readings and reactions can seem strangely stilted or muted, suggesting the character’s anxiety and sweetness but little sense of agency or urgency, or true warmth, though perhaps that’s what Messrs. Zax and Pometta intended.Predictably, Steven Skybell, who in recent years has delighted audiences in productions ranging from an inspired, Yiddish-language take on “Fiddler on the Roof” to a garish revival of “Cabaret,” manages to bring more depth and bite to the part of Allan. Like Josh, the role is a type we’ve met many times before, the man of means who’s conflicted about his path but disgusted by his child’s failure to recognize the hard work it entailed, yet the actor potently evinces both Allan’s indignation and his ambivalence.Awesta Zarif makes an endearing off-Broadway debut as the smart, stylish Mina, whose steadiness and grace in surveying the horrors that she and Josh have encountered—and in handling Josh’s parents, for that matter — provide a marked contrast to Josh’s fretting and pontificating. While raised in London from the age of six, Mina has plainly not known Josh’s privilege; when she first sees the Goldmans’ expensive home, elegantly represented in Chen-Wei Liao’s scenic design, she’s as impressed as he is embarrassed. But the twists that ultimately make “Aftermath” more compelling towards the end remind us that it’s easier to wield lofty ideals than it is to carry their full weight. Whatever its imperfections, the play reinforces that message quite powerfully.

Privilege Meets Its Reckoning in ‘Aftermath’

Privilege Meets Its Reckoning in ‘Aftermath’

More from the New York Sun

Hunt Resumes for Missing Salvadoreans in Haiti After Identities of Returned Bodies Are Unconfirmed

Netanyahu Attempts To Douse Crypto Firestorm

Trump Denies Plan To Bring Back White House Swimming Pool Amid Raging Press Access Battle

A Midterm ‘Thumping’ for Republicans Could Prompt the Party To Chart a New Post-Trump Course

The Hunger for Hope and a Positive Future

Sinatra Sang Bacharach — but Only Twice

Terence Fisher’s Monsters Rise Again

Toyota Gets Back on the Wagon

More from the New York Sun

Hunt Resumes for Missing Salvadoreans in Haiti After Identities of Returned Bodies Are Unconfirmed

Netanyahu Attempts To Douse Crypto Firestorm

Trump Denies Plan To Bring Back White House Swimming Pool Amid Raging Press Access Battle

A Midterm ‘Thumping’ for Republicans Could Prompt the Party To Chart a New Post-Trump Course

The Hunger for Hope and a Positive Future

Sinatra Sang Bacharach — but Only Twice

Terence Fisher’s Monsters Rise Again

Toyota Gets Back on the Wagon