(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- Friendships can be difficult to hold on to - especially as one gets older. The people we meet over the years often drift away for one reason or another. People change and situations change; sometimes we just lose track of the years. Michael Tucker’s latest play at New Jersey Repertory Company, A Tailor Near Me, takes a look at adult male friendships when a man enters a tailor shop to have his suit altered in anticipation of a friend’s funeral.
Actors often relish the opportunity to be in a world premiere play. It gives them the freedom to play a character without the audience having any expectations as to how it should be played. When done well it can be difficult to imagine any other actor performing the role. That’s the case with Richard Kind as Sam. Richard is terrific as a writer who can no longer fit into his suit due to putting on extra weight over the years. Tucker’s play takes advantage of Richard’s comic timing, his use of language, and his physical comedy skills in such a way that I wonder if the role was written for him. He’s that good on stage.
Alongside him in the play is James Pickens, Jr. who plays Alfredo, a tailor originally from Argentina. James is excellent as the stoic, inquisitive tailor who is dealing with his own issues within a long-standing friendship. It is impressive watching him use the various instruments a tailor has at his disposal. The work involved is far more detailed than many know.
Alfredo says he can fix Sam’s suit, but recommends he simply goes out and buys a new one since his suit is old and badly out of style anyway. Sam explains he needs to have a suit ready now because he might need it soon for a funeral, but plans on getting a $2,000 custom-made suit made for him in Italy next year.
Alfredo pulls a jacket off the rack and puts it on, telling him this is one he made for himself. He says for $2,000 he will make him a bespoke suit (a way of making clothes based on individual patterns and the specific measurements of the customer), made from whatever type of cloth he wants, and inside the breast pocket will be eight one-hundred dollar bills as his change.
A suit for $1200 seems too cheap for Sam and he says he’d rather just get this suit fixed for now. So, Alfredo asks for the pants and learns a little more about Sam’s friend, Robert, while Sam changes from the dress pants to his regular pants.
The casual conversational style seems to connect with Sam who admits he liked the way Alfredo’s suit looked on him. He asks how long would it take for Alfredo to make him a suit. Maybe four or five weeks weeks, Alfredo says. Sam remains unconvinced, but intrigued. Alfredo asks him to put the suit back on for a moment. He wants to see exactly how he wears the clothes, and how everything looks when he walks and sits down.
“After the funeral, you’ll go back home?” asks Alfredo.
Sam tells him they will go to the widow’s house for Shiva afterwards, explaining it’s a Jewish thing. Alfredo surprises him by saying he knows Shiva very well. He is aware there will be food and drinks there.
“And after a while the wife will say, ‘Sam, make yourself comfortable. Take off your jacket.’ Then what? You have a patch in the back and you look like a putz,” said Alfredo.
At that moment, Sam realizes Alfredo may be Jewish, as well. This is the first of several things they would learn they have in common. Sam agrees to have Alfredo design a suit for him and they start immediately by recording the initial measurements. While doing so, Alfredo subtly learns more and more about his client and the friend who is dying.
They friends met in college. Initially, they were part of two completely different groups; Sam’s group looked straight out of a Pat Boone movie while Robert ran with a bohemian crowd.
Alfredo could tell Sam was attracted to the bohemians.
“These were provocative people. The way they dressed, the way they held themselves apart and above; the way they used humor like a dagger to open people up - I was very taken with that. And the girls that hung around them were also very provocative. Actresses and people like that. I wasn’t just attracted - I wanted in. And it was scary because these were tear-down-the-system kind of people; turn-the-system-upside-down, create-a-whole-new-system altogether kind of people,” recalled Sam.
Alfredo notes they were artists and says, “You were white on the outside and black on the inside.”
The play is humorous throughout with one of the funniest moments being a rather lengthy joke (3-4 minutes long maybe) told by Sam about a Jewish man going to a tailor to get a new suit. This was the joke Sam told to the bohemian crowd that broke the ice and opened their world up to him. It’s a hilarious tale that showcases Richard Kind’s physical comedy.
Throughout the play, which takes place in three parts (early Spring, three weeks later, and then two weeks after that), Alfredo and Sam learn much about each other. Both men are in their eighties and have been married for a long time. Alfredo’s wife is a musician, Sam’s wife runs a design business. Alfredo is both well read and very familiar with Sam’s work.
Alfredo learns that Robert was the one who helped Sam become the writer he is. Whenever he would get stuck while writing a story, Robert helped him get the ideas flowing again. Robert always believed in him - so much so that Sam agreed to go to Los Angeles and write a tv show for him based on one of Sam’s earlier books. That series made Sam rich, but he was never comfortable being rich. That was the difference between Sam and his friend and what may have led to their relationship being strained - especially after Sam returned to the East Coast.
Sam and Alfredo appear to be building a friendship of their own, but each time Sam invites Alfredo and his wife over to dinner he is turned down. It's clear there are boundaries Alfredo wants to keep in place.
Are the questions solely to help Alfredo design the best suit for Sam? Or is there a potential friendship here? The playwright does a fine job of keeping those lines blurry the entire way.
Their conversations are similar to what might be overheard by the office water cooler or in a bar, and they pose questions of their own. Does a meaningful conversation mean a potential friendship? Are such conversations simply a way to pass the time? Or strictly for business purposes? These are questions we all probably ask ourselves when meeting someone new and it’s rather fascinating seeing that situation played out on stage.
A Tailor Near Me is expertly directed by James Glossman who keeps everything moving at a nice pace. The play is 90 minutes with no intermission. Glossman is familiar to NJ Rep audiences, having directed many productions there including Circumference of a Squirrel and Memoirs of a Forgotten Man.
As we’ve become accustomed to at NJ Rep, the production features a wonderful set designed by Jessica Parks. She has been with the company since 2003 and has served as their resident scenic designer since 2010. She turns the stage into a working tailor shop with every detail looking authentic. NJ Rep always utilizes every inch of stage space available and continue to do that with this production. Their set designs always impress me.
This is Michael Tucker's third full-length play to be produced at NJ Rep, following The M Spot and Fern Hill. Tucker (who has fifty years of theater, tv, and film acting credits to his name) has also had two short plays (Pittsburgh and Zazú) presented at NJ Rep's West End Festival of the Arts.
New Jersey Repertory Company exists to produce new works, something very risky for a theatre company. They’ve been around since 1997 and it has been wonderful to watch their progress over the years. Actors like Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years) helped put this Jersey Shore theatre on the radar of television and movie actors who want the challenge of being part of new works. Richard Kind and James Pickens, Jr. continue this run of star power for the theatre company. In a way it’s like NJ Rep is being rewarded for years of taking risks and producing new works; and it’s great to see.
Richard Kind won a Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Big Knife and was nominated for a Tony Award as well. In addition to several roles on Broadway, Kind has had roles in numerous films and was a regular on television shows like Spin City and Mad About You. James Pickens, Jr. is best known for 19 seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, but has an extensive film and theater history as well, including being part of the original Negro Ensemble Company production of A Soldier’s Play alongside Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson.
Any theatre company would be lucky to have actors of this quality in their production. Richard Kind and James Pickens, Jr. are both amazing on stage and this play is highly recommended. A Tailor Near Me is funny throughout, but has its sad moments as well. It shows the delicate balance of friendships - especially male friendships - which is something society tends to overlook. In the era of social media, maybe it’s time to start focusing more on real friendships rather than likes and shares…
A Tailor Near Me runs now through September 3, 2023 with performances on Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. There will be Friday matinees at 3:00pm on August 11, 18, 25 as well. New Jersey Repertory Company is located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey. For ticket information, click here.
All photos by Andrea Phox
