Capsule Reviews

Visiting Mr. Green A young man visits an old Jewish widower every week for six months. They talk, they eat kosher chicken soup, they sip tea. Wisdom is shared, secrets revealed. Sound like Tuesdays with Morrie? Well, kinda. Actually Jeff Baron’s play is more like a very special episode of Seinfeld. Ross (the marvelous Ian Leson) nearly runs octagenarian Mr. Green (Jerry Russell) down on a Manhattan street. He’s sentenced to the weekly drop-ins as community service. When Mr. Green learns that Ross is gay, he just can’t understand how a nice Jewish boy could be a fegalah. And so we start the slow, careful dance toward tolerance and acceptance via situational dramedy. The script is a lightweight, but the actors give their roles real substance and dignity. Director Rene Moreno again gets the best results by reining in actors’ tendencies to do too much. The simplicity and ease with which Leson and Russell relate to each other is more moving than the play itself. Through November 27 at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, 5601 Sears St., 214-828-0094. Reviewed November 10. (Elaine Liner)