Grow your own family: 'Visiting Mr. Green' blossoms at the Florida Rep
BY NANCY STETSON nstetson@floridaweekly.com
What do you do when your family rejects you, when you don't fit into their narrow idea of who you should be?

COURTESY PHOTO While driving recklessly, Ross, a young man (Kraig Swartz), almost runs over Mr. Green (David S. Howard), an elderly, despondent man who's grieving for his late wife.

What do you do when you're alienated from those who raised you?

What do you do when you've lost those you love the most?

Robert Frost once said that "home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."

But not all families agree with Frost.

In "Visiting Mr. Green," a two-man play at the Florida Repertory Theatre, both characters struggle with loss and being alienated from their family.

They're thrown together by the whim of the court. While driving recklessly, Ross, a young man (Kraig Swartz), almost runs over Mr. Green (David S. Howard), an elderly, despondent man who's grieving for his late wife. As a result, the court rules that as com- munity service, Ross should visit Mr. Green once a week for six months.

But Mr. Green doesn't want any visitors. He's defensive, reclusive. But the court insists.

And so, like it or not, the two find themselves thrown into each other's lives.

With lesser actors, "Visiting Mr. Green" could disintegrate into a schmaltzy play, with both men resorting to stereotype. But Swartz and Howard are both extremely skilled actors who know how to give life to their characters. They embody what the play is about: seeing people as individuals, not as stereotypes.

Their sense of timing and nuance is exquisite, and they deliver lines that, in less-skilled hands, would fall flat or seem overly corny or sentimental.

Initially, the play seems a series of lighthearted short vignettes, but over time, both men reveal truths about themselves that complicate their relationship. (It's difficult to be any more specific without giving away the plot and its many twists and surprises.)

Playwright Jeff Baron isn't heavy-handed with his play, and even the symbolism of the names (Ross Gardiner, as in gardener, and Mr. Green, as in foliage, or new life) isn't used as a bludgeon. He also resists tying everything together nice and neat at the end, refusing to spell everything out. But he is kind enough to leave us with hope.

"Visiting Mr. Green," Baron's first play, was nominated as Best Play by the Drama League and has played in 21 countries in 15 languages. It received Best Play awards in Israel, Germany and Greece and was a Best New Play nominee for the Moliere Award in France.

In this production of "Visiting Mr. Green," both actors are of such superlative quality that they can't help but bring out the best in each other. This is a duo who know how to make even the simplest lines come to life.

Swartz plays Ross as boyish and earnest, with an aching vulnerability. Howard's Mr. Green is initially suspicious and alienating, yet his face lights up with joy when he talks about his wife.

Howard J. Millman has directed this with a sure hand, drawing out the various shades and hues of personality and dialogue. He doesn't let the actors play their characters broadly, and he prevents the play from ever veering into sloppy sentimentality.

Scenic designer Kenneth J. Martin gives us a typical apartment on New York's Upper West Side, with wonderful touches that can be seen only briefly, when doors are opened: the outer hall, the blue tile of the bathroom.

And costume designer Roberta Malcolm doesn't hit a false note with her clothing choices. They are so on-target they are almost mundane. Mr. Green's wardrobe, especially, looks exactly like the kind of clothes an older man would wear, even down to the white socks with black shoes.

Call it a comedic drama or a drama infused with comedy, "Visiting Mr. Green" is a play that evokes both laughter and tears. It's a fitting end to the Florida Rep's spectacular tenth season, a sweet parting gift to their audience.

"Visiting Mr. Green" is a thoughtful play, moving, but also very funny.

What do you do when your family rejects you? You gather together supportive people who love you for who you are, and create your own family. And sometimes, you find them in the most unexpected places.

if you go

>> What: "Visiting Mr. Green"

>> When: through May 18

>> Where: the Florida Repertory Theatre, 2267 First Street, at the Arcade Theatre on Bay Street, between Hendry and Jackson, in downtown Fort Myers

>> Cost: $25, $34 and $38

>> Information: Call 332-4488 or go to www.floridarep.org