APT's 'The Unexpected Man' is an unexpected delight

By Mike Muckian, The Wisconsin Gazette

July 13, 2017

Human intimacy can be experienced in two ways. There’s the close familiarity that two people might enjoy, and then there’s the relationship one has with one’s own thoughts.

In American Players Theatre’s new production of The Unexpected Man, there is a little of the former and quite a bit of the latter.

Director Laura Gordon even creates a third type of intimacy — between audience members and the players — to heighten the drama of this remarkable production, which opened June 17 in APT’s physically intimate Touchstone Theatre.

Written in 1995 by Yasmina Reza — the French actress, novelist and playwright — The Unexpected Man is the story of two strangers sharing the compartment of a train traveling from Paris to Frankfurt. Paul Parsky (Brian Mani) is a famous author and Martha (Sarah Day) may be best described as Parsky’s No. 1 fan. She’s carrying with her the author’s latest novel, also entitled The Unexpected Man.

As the two characters studiously ignore and yet constantly muse on each other, they share their deepest thoughts through alternating monologues directed to the audience.

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