There are not enough complements to capture CPT’s ‘in a word’

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics

Out of sight, out of mind.

This quaint saying suggests that if you do not see someone or something with frequency, you will soon stop thinking about them.  Lauren Yee’s new play “in a word,” in production at Cleveland Public Theatre, suggests an alternative and significantly more disturbing meaning.

Two years have passed since Fiona’s adopted seven-year-old son mysteriously disappeared from the car while she ran into a gas station for a quick purchase.  Her husband Guy has been trying hard to get over, get around and get through this traumatic event, but she cannot let it go. She is obsessed by it.  Lost in it.  

Out of sight, out of mind.

And to demonstrate just how lost Fiona has become, the playwright takes us on an absurdist, one-act journey into her insanity.