Long Lost is Lost in Translation

Donald Margulies’s Long Lost at Manhattan Theatre Club’s New York City Center — Stage I is extremely Long Lost.

Billy (Lee Tergesen), descends on his brother David (Kelly AuCoin), a Wall Street consultant. Things are not exactly good between the brothers. Billy is drug addict, alcoholic and his actions killed his parents. The two brothers haven’t spoken in years. Released from jail, claiming he is clean, Billy begs David to let him stay as he is dying and has no where to go. David try to get out of it claiming his marriage is on the rocks, but Billy is manipulative and David a push over.

David’s philanthropist wife, Molly (Annie Parisse), is putting on her once a years gala and their college-aged son, Jeremy (Alex Wolff), has returned from college. Billy puts thorns into everything he touches and though he is destructive, destruction can’t happen unless the seeds were already there.

The actors aren’t compelling enough. Tergesen isn’t as frightening as he should be, AuCoin is too complacent. Parisse not given enough for us to care. Wolff is perfectly cast as the boy on the verge of manhood and self discovery.

Daniel Sullivan’s direction is plooding. John Lee Beatty’s set is perfectally workable,Kenneth Posner’s lighting moody, Daniel Kluger’s underscoring haunted and Toni-Leslie James’s costumes just seem way too chic for Billy.

Donald Margulie’s has a way with words, but in Long Lost one wonders what was so important to write a play about.

Long Lost: at Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center — Stage I, 131 West 55th St. through June 30