“Drinking in America,” written by three-time Obie Award winner Eric Bogosian and starring Andre Royo opened this past Sunday night at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. The show, which was directed by Mark Armstrong, will also be recorded and released on Audible at a later date, extending its reach to millions of listeners around the world.
The one-person play was originally produced in the late 1980s and in it, several men tell the audience, either through direct address or by conversing with an absent but named scene partner, who they are and what problems they are dealing with – or, more often, avoiding. They also show who they are, and it is obvious that the often braggadocious men are struggling to save face or stay afloat. They are overcompensating and unwilling to be vulnerable.
These men, all with substance use accompanying their stories, are played by Andre Royo - best known for his unforgettable work as recovering heroin addict Reginald “Bubbles” Cousins on The HBO series “The Wire.” Royo played Bubbles honestly and with absolute humanity - characteristics he brings to each man in “Drinking in America.”
Performances of the four-week limited engagement of “Drinking in America” began on March 10 and the show runs off-Broadway through April 14.