The cast of “Small Mouth Sounds” at Round House Theatre are in the quiet place. (Photo by Kaley Etzkorn courtesy of Round House Theatre)
The premise of Small Mouth Sounds, which kicks off Round House Theatre’s new season, is tantalizingly slight. Six strangers convene at a silent retreat, guided by an unseen guru, in the woods somewhere outside of New York City. Each character, whose names we only learn thanks to the show’s program, is heartsick in their own way. Due to the strict rules of this (supposedly) therapeutic getaway, we rarely hear the cast speak. Instead, a loose narrative unfolds in pantomime amid a deafening quiet.
Written by Bess Wohl and directed by Round House artistic director Ryan Rilette, Small Mouth Sounds is an impressive theatrical exercise. It’s also staunchly Not For Everyone. During its 110-minute runtime, I was at once reminded of The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius’ 2011, Oscar-winning film), the finale of Mad Men (also set at a New Age retreat), and John Cage’s 4′33″ (a work of pure orchestral silence).
I doubt such comparisons will excite throngs of casual theatergoers. But who knows? Its opening night audience, largely composed of donors and the press, was left rapt.
Given Wohl’s self-imposed limitations on dialogue, Small Mouth Sounds succeeds as a formal innovation because the cast is evenly terrific. These characters are similarly—and thoroughly—damaged. Through gestures and context clues, we discover Jan (James Whalen) is reeling from a recent death. Joan and Judy (Beth Hylton and Andrea Harris Smith), a lesbian couple, are working through medical trauma. The schlumpy Ned (Michael Glenn) can rival Job with his bad luck. Alicia (Katie deBuys) and Rodney (Maboud Ebrahimzadeh) have backstories that are more elusive, but woe is a magnet that draws them together.
And yet, Small Mouth Sounds falters as a critique of the self-help industry, and of our modern malaise in general. Wohl’s play is at times sharp and biting—mainly when Timothy Douglas’ voice, representing the compound’s faceless and incompetent guru, booms above us with a measured cadence.
Small Mouth Sounds offers a compelling overarching conceit that, sadly, doesn’t lead to a grand, unified statement. There are many moments of comedy and pathos in this satire, for sure. But they don’t add up to a satisfying, devastating whole. I want to cheer this exciting circus act. Still, we’d be better served by a more earthbound drama, rather than a tight-lipped, high-flown novelty.
Small Mouth Sounds runs at Round House Theatre through September 23, various times, tickets $36-$67)
