Mamie Gummer Online | Hunting and Gathering

Hunting and Gathering

Directed by: Leigh Silverman

Written by: Brooke Berman

Location: Primary Stages

Dates: January 22, 2008 - March 01, 2008

Brooke Berman’s sharp, satiric voice returns to Primary Stages, where she was a member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, with Hunting and Gathering. This world premiere play follows four interconnected New Yorkers through their thwarted attempts to find a place – without compromise. Jesse has his first date since his divorce, his ex-lover Ruth is living a fantasy, his brother Astor is the "man with the van", and Bess has a plan to come out on top. Ms. Berman’s contemporary play begs the question: Do you have to be a predator to survive?

Cast & Characters

Michael Chernus
Mamie Gummer
Kiera Naughton
Jeremy Shamos

... Astor
... Bess
... Ruth
... Jesse

Image Library

Reviews

The no-nonsense, go-getting girl of indomitable literal-mindedness is hardly an unfamiliar type in American culture these days. (Reese Witherspoon devoted much of her youth to playing versions of it.) But Ms. Gummer invests Bess, who divides the world into predators and prey, with an edge of anxiety that makes it clear that her character’s practicality is hard-won, and her sharpness cuts surprisingly deep. (While I’ve been consistently impressed by Ms. Gummer on the several occasions I’ve seen her perform, this was the first time that I forgot while watching her that her mother, whom she resembles, is the chameleon movie goddess Meryl Streep.)

"You can be a predator - or prey," Bess lectures Ruth, during a jolly barroom game of Big Buck Hunter that awakens Ruth's dormant killer instincts. As applied to men, in Gummer's deliciously deadpan perf, Bess' lesson on hunting-and-trapping is heartless, ruthless, and hilarious.

Bess is the most shallowly written character in the script, and while Gummer isn't able to bring much depth to the part, she does possess a strong presence and brings out the humor within the play.