Theater Review: Academy’s ‘Mortal Thoughts’ A Captivating Story Of Friendship

Witnessing a normal person attempt to survive a bad situation is always one of my favorite types of narrative. Can the characters overcome the trials that an unfair life throws at them and rise above, or do they fall victim to the onslaught of poor choices and an uncaring reality? A new play shares a story that asks that very question, thrusting its characters into unfamiliar waters and watches them do everything they can not to drown.

The world premiere of “Mortal Thoughts” opened Nov. 6 at the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans. The play, written and directed by Claude Kerven, was adapted for the stage from the 1991 film of the same name, also written by Kerven. A psychological thriller with a strong neo-noir aesthetic, “Mortal Thoughts” is a captivating portrait of two friends navigating a fateful night and the aftermath that leaves a significant impact on each of them. The resulting action is a discussion on abuse, trauma and friendship being tested past its limits that mixes tension and unsuspecting humor, capturing its audience’s attention throughout the play.

The action follows friends Cynthia (Sydney Simenauer) and Joyce (Sydney Hoffman). The play begins with Cynthia being questioned by Detective Woods (Janet Geist Moore) and ADA Nelson (Missy Potash), who are trying to get to the nature behind the friendship of the two women. Cynthia takes Woods and Nelson through her past with Joyce, recounting her marriage to James “Jimmy” Gianelli (Connor Lee), Joyce and Jimmy’s troubled relationship, and how Cynthia fit into their dynamic. Cynthia explains how her husband Arthur (Elijah Corbin) felt about the friendship, Jimmy’s various family members and eventually how Joyce killed Jimmy. From there the play turns into dueling character studies — Cynthia doing her best to try and hold everything together and Joyce hitting rock bottom harder and faster than anyone ever should. The lengths each woman goes to eventually hits an apex, making the audience realize it’s only a matter of time before the train is bound to come off its tracks.

The cast is the first thing to talk about when celebrating the performance. Simenauer carries so much narrative weight as Cynthia. She’s in nearly every scene, often simultaneously recounting a story to Woods and Nelson and responding to them mid-scene as they interject from the present. The level of focus she displays, in addition to the character work, relays a composed performance in a story that is so much about everything breaking down around her. It was very well done.

Her counterpart, Hoffman, is the yang to Simenaur’s yin. While Cynthia is doing everything to keep it all together, Joyce gets to be the hottest of messes you ever did see. From the Sid and Nancy relationship with Jimmy to playing the grieving widow to the neurotic and suspicious state she’s left in by the end of the narrative, Hoffman has a role in Joyce that allows her to devolve into a conflux of emotions, and it’s a fun watch.

While the two women carry much of the story, there is no story without Lee’s Jimmy. In order for it to work the audience has to hate Jimmy, and Lee makes it easy to do so. He’s brash and abusive in a way that is all too common. He’s the guy at the bar at the end of the night boasting to his friends about how he mistreated his girlfriend in some humiliating way. He’s the guy in that couple that will scream at each other over the slightest provocation. He’s the person that starts as fun chaos but everyone realizes he’s still chaos. Through the horror and the humor, he’s commanding when on stage. 

The last of the principal cast to mention is Corbin as Arthur, Cynthia’s husband. Arthur is an interesting character, often providing a reprieve for Cynthia to be a person outside of the insanity of Joyce’s life. They’re a contrast to Joyce and Jimmy in that they seem to have a normal relationship, yet as the story progresses a strain builds as Arthur loses Cynthia to Joyce more and more. Corbin goes from supportive to frustrated to fed up in a way that is perfectly relatable and an integral component to the second act.

The remaining credited cast features Tallulah Bossi as Cookie, Hugo Ceraldi as Joey, Chelsea Callahan as Mama Gianelli, Rick Morse as Dominic, Jayne Clark as Mother and Jeffrey Moore as Father.

Kerven’s adaptation of his film makes me want to check out the original (which featured Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Harvey Keitel in notable parts) as the action of the stage felt very much like a good ole fashioned popcorn movie (if a film that came out in 1991 qualifies as ole fashioned). Kerven has been the chair of the one-year and two-year filmmaking programs at the New York Film Academy since 1994. He has a long career of success with short films, directed more than 25 for Saturday Night Live, and holds an Academy Award for Best Dramatic Student Film, an Emmy, and has been nominated by the Director’s Guild of America.