Review: Schenectady Civic Players vividly bring world of dementia to life

Schenectady Civic Playhouse has started off 2024 with a jolt to the senses.

“The Father,” by French playwright Florian Zeller and translated to English by Christopher Hampton, is an emotionally chilling examination inside the mind of Andre, an older gentleman living in Paris.

Andre is a retired engineer whose daughter, Anne, has come to look in on him as his mind has begun to deteriorate.

Anne is moving to London to be with her love, Pierre, and is trying to have nurses and aides in place to help Andre before she leaves for England.

Or, is Andre a retired professional dancer living with his daughter and her husband? Who are all these people that keep coming into his apartment, and what has he done with his wristwatch?

The world of the sane and the mind of a person in the throes of dementia as the grasp of reality slips away is a scary battleground. It is at once horrifying and heartbreaking to observe. There too are moments of humor, black humor, as we watch from the outside looking in. Director David E. Rook leads his cast and the audience through the twists and turns of Andre’s world, which no longer has much resemblance to reality, except to Andre. We feel his pain, his terror and frustrations as we travel through his world.

Rook does a fine job steering the ship. The audience watches the play from many planes. We are never quite told what is reality and what is Andre’s reality. We are never certain where in time the characters are, as the play does not follow a traditional linear timeline.

Tony Pallone, Ashley Schuliger, Michael Schaefer and Amy Hausknecht play supporting characters who pass through Andre’s world in various guises and in some cases various personas. They flip-flop among the various characters dependent upon Andre’s state of mind. It takes the audience some adjusting as the role switches can be jarring, but once you suspend belief as we are accustomed to, it becomes an engaging and riveting journey.

Colleen Lovett is Anne, Andre’s daughter. Her sensitive portrayal captures the love for her father, her frustrations and even her anger with him as she tries to navigate his journey. As someone who has traveled this road intimately, I know it takes great self-control to balance the patient’s needs, their wants and their reality with your own desire to afford them the best care during every step of the disease. I often said some days I would go and visit my mother in her world; others, she would come visit me in mine. Her visits to my world became more and more infrequent and more and more heartbreaking, and frustrating to watch. Lovett beautifully captures all of those emotions.

Gary Maggio’s performance as Andre is captivating. His descent into dementia is stunningly nuanced. Your heart will break for him as his frustrations and fears build. We ache as his mind loses its grip on reality. Maggio has sculpted a man who literally disintegrates before the audience’s eyes — never overplayed, always heart-rendingly real.

Robin MacDuffie has designed a set that works perfectly with the spiral in Andre’s mind. Walls rotate, set pieces come and go, and artwork is altered as Andre’s sense of reality spins.

“The Father” is a very interesting examination of the world of dementia. You will find yourself absorbed into the world, the fog that engulfs and the somewhat surprising final scene that will put everything in its proper place. “The Father” runs through Sunday at the SCP playhouse, 12 Church St. in Schenectady. For information or tickets, visit www.civicplayers.org  or call 518-382-2081.