Review: La Jolla Playhouse’s ‘All the Men’ explores home in unexpected ways

by Pam Kragen

There’s a line in Noah Diaz’s new play “All the Men Who’ve Frightened Me” that’s repeated several times by a gruff, fear-plagued father who walked out on his wife and young children three decades before. “It is what it is,” he says, without emotion.

But is his abandonment an act of selfishness or the belief that he’s doing his family a favor?

“All the Men” made its world premiere Sunday in La Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre. Commissioned by the Playhouse in 2018, and directed in its mainstage debut by the Playhouse’s inaugural directing fellow, Kat Yen, this two-hour play asks the viewer to continually reassess reality and the members of a troubled family.

The play begins with 30something couple Ty and Nora preparing to move into his now-empty and rundown family home. The restless and heartbroken Nora (played with an aching anxiety by Kineta Kunutu) has learned she cannot carry a baby, so Ty, a trans man, offers to stop his testosterone treatments so he carry the baby instead. Hennessy Winkler’s warm, sensitive and sad-eyed performance as Ty is the heart of this production.

Armando Riesco, left, Leonardo Romero, John Padilla, Kineta Kunutu and Hennessy Winkler in a scene from the world-premiere production of Noah Diaz's play "All the Men Who've Frightened Me." (Rich Soublet II) — Armando Riesco, left, Leonardo Romero, John Padilla, Kineta Kunutu and Hennessy Winkler in a scene from the world-premiere production of Noah Diaz’s play “All the Men Who’ve Frightened Me.” (Rich Soublet II)

Ty and his now-pregnant younger sister Carrie (the bubbly Keren Lugo) are the grown children of the father who disappeared 30 years ago, and their intrusive, fiercely opinionated handful of a mother, Dale, is his ex-wife. Dale Soules gives a hilarious, scene-stealing performance as the beer-swilling mom.

Most of the play’s first act involves navigating the dynamics of this extended family in the rangy family home. Then, in a tour de force of magical realism, three versions of Ty’s absentee dad crawl out of the walls and furniture one night. The First (Leonardo Romero) is the optimistic and curious 20something version, the Second (Armando Riesco) is the angry and quiet middle-aged version that Ty remembers, and the Third (John Padilla) is the older, more reflective dad the audience met in the prologue.

As in all magical realism tales, these house spirits are an unquestioned part of the family’s reality, so Nora puts these handy men to work fixing up their home, if not their lives.

Dale Soules as Dale, left, and Hennessy Winkler as Ty in La Jolla Playhouse's world-premiere production of Noah Diaz's play "All the Men Who've Frightened Me." (Rich Soublet II) — Dale Soules as Dale, left, and Hennessy Winkler as Ty in La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere production of Noah Diaz’s play “All the Men Who’ve Frightened Me.” (Rich Soublet II)

Over time, Ty begins to understand — but not forgive — his father, while Nora finds herself pulling away from the life she thought she wanted. The play explores with humor issues of family, parenting, home, generational trauma and forgiveness.

But the script still needs work. The source of Nora’s flighty, noncommital personality is never explained. Ty’s entire post-childhood backstory — his career, his marriage, his decision to transition — are not addressed. And I found myself wanting to hear more from the taciturn middle-aged dad.

Adam Rigg’s clever scenic design allows the two-story home to transform before the audience’s eyes. Jennifer Brawn Gittings designed costumes, Carolina Ortiz Herrera designed lighting and UptownWorks designed sound and composition.

Just as the house changes in “All the Men,” so do the characters and their relationships. But it would be a deeper, richer and more enlightening play with more script development.