Arts & Culture Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors Michael Giltz Freelance writerGET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ Follow Video , Aasif Mandvi Disgraced , Ayad Akhtar , Aasif Mandvi , Disgraced Off Broadway , Heidi Armbruster , Omar Maskati , Arts News 0 2 0 0React Amazing Inspiring Funny Scary Hot Crazy Important WeirdDisgraced Tries to Provoke But Only Puzzles DISGRACED LCT3 AT CLAIRE TOW THEATER Disgraced hopes to be a provocative drama, the sort of entertainment that pushes a few buttons while portraying characters who have a veneer of civility butunderneath embody the darkest urges of us all.</p><p> Think Neil LaBute or Yasmina Reza.</p><p> While those two can excel at high concept but sometimes stumble on believable characters, playwrightAyad Akhtar has a promising talent for real charactersbut their disagreements are too polite and the hoped-for shock when ugly prejudice is bared simply leaves us wondering if these are the same characters we'vebeen watching for the past hour.</p><p> Aasif Mandvi of The Daily Show is solid as Amir Kapoor, an American lawyer of Pakistani origin who has allowed his bosses to believe he's Indian.</p><p> One gives him a Hindu statue for a gift even though he was raised Muslim and is a strident non-believer.</p><p> He lives on the Upper East Side with his beautiful wifeEmily (a fine Heidi Armbruster) and the possibility of a partnership down the road.</p><p> Amir's nephew (an appealing Omar Maskati) wears a baseball cap and now goes by the name of "Abe" but the teenager's assimilation hasn't kept him from finding strength in Islam.</p><p> He begs his uncle torepresent a religious leader who has been accused (wrongly, the boy believes) of links to terrorism.</p><p> Amirwants nothing to do with it; he paid a visit to the imam who spent their entire time together trying to getAmir to pray.</p><p> But his nephew keeps insisting and Emily (a painter who has found intense inspiration inPersian art) adds her voice.</p><p> Reluctantly, unhappily, he becomes more involved.</p><p> But not before the show's most convincing and memorable moment.</p><p> Amir pins down his nephew into admitting that many of the adults in their circledisdain Western women and consider them whores for the way they dress.</p><p> He tells Emily that his mother feels the same ("I thought she liked me," Emily murmurs) and then delivers the knock-out blow: a tale of childhood romance in which Amir had a crush on a Jewish girl in his class.</p><p> When his mother discoversthis, she angrily insists he never speak to the girl again; if he does, she'll break his bones.</p><p> And so he'dMOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 Mourdock On Abortion: Pregnancy From Rape Is 'Something God Intended' Was The Whole Donald Trump Announcement A Gigantic, Pointless Bust? 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This all explodes thanks to plot twists that pile onto each other in an especially awkward manner, each one less convincing than the last, or rather, less interesting.</p><p> There's nothing unconvincing about maritalinfidelity or having a co-worker leap you on the corporate ladder.</p><p> But none of it has any bearing on theweighty religious and cultural topics that Disgraced clumsily raises.</p><p> It certainly isn't the fault of the cast, which is fine throughout, with Karen Pittman especially good as that co-worker of Amir's, probablybecause she's the most internally consistent character on the stage and isn't asked to suddenly turn into someone entirely different.</p><p> Pittman also has an appealing warmth and intelligence.</p><p> It's only 90 minutes but Disgraced felt much longer.</p><p> Perhaps when Akhtar listens to the vivid characters he can create rather than jumping them through hoops he'll deliver a longer play that feels shorter.</p><p> THE THEATER SEASON 2012-2013 (on a four star scale) As You Like it (Shakespeare In The Park w Lily Rabe) **** Chimichangas And Zoloft * Closer Than Ever *** Cock ** 1/2 Harvey with Jim Parsons * Testimony WATCH: U.N.</p><p> Chief Dances Gangnam-Style Louisiana Woman May Have Set Herself On Fire In Dubious Race-Related Attack (UPDATED) DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5 Chip Davis Halloween Is a Night Like No Other Tavis Smiley The Top 20 (Cause 10 Ain’t Enough) Reasons (Excuses) Black Folk Will Give if Obama Loses MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1 of 2 HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 3 Sponsored Links New Policy in New York 2012-Drivers w/ no DUIs eligible for up to 50% off car insurance...</p><p> TheFinanceAuthority.com "How Doctors Lose Weight" New York Celebrity Doctor Reveals His #1Trick To Lose Weight... iConsumerKnowledge.org Boost Testosterone Levels Men over 40 are seeing shocking boosts infree testosterone with this Slate Articles »Recommend 1k Recommend 784 Recommend 32k American Horror Story, Season 2 Is The Neighbors Really TV’s WorstNew Show? An Evil Dead Remake? Why? NSFW Exhibition Shows Naked Men For A Change This Is NOT A Photograph Virginia Suburb Goes Gangnam Style You Have NEVER Seen Face Painting Like This My Children! My Africa! *** Once On This Island *** Potted Potter * Storefront Church ** 1/2 Title And Deed *** Picture Incomplete (NYMF) ** Flambe Dreams (NYMF) ** Rio (NYMF) ** The Two Month Rule (NYMF) * Trouble (NYMF) ** 1/2 Stealing Time (NYMF) ** Requiem For A Lost Girl (NYMF) ** 1/2 Re-Animator The Musical (NYMF) *** Baby Case (NYMF) ** 1/2 How Deep Is The Ocean (NYMF) ** 1/2 Central Avenue Breakdown (NYMF) *** Foreverman (NYMF) * 1/2 Swing State (NYMF) * 1/2 Stand Tall: A Rock Musical (NYMF) * 1/2 Living With Henry (NYMF) * A Letter To Harvey Milk (NYMF) ** 1/2 The Last Smoker In America ** Gore Vidal's The Best Man (w new cast) *** Into The Woods at Delacorte ** 1/2 Bring It On: The Musical ** Bullet For Adolf * Summer Shorts Series B: Paul Rudnick, Neil LaBute, etc. ** Harrison, TX *** Dark Hollow: An Appalachian "Woyzeck" (FringeNYC) * 1/2 Pink Milk (FringeNYC)* 1/2 Who Murdered Love (FringeNYC) no stars Storytime With Mr.</p><p> Buttermen (FringeNYC) ** #MormonInChief (FringeNYC) ** An Interrogation Primer (FringeNYC) *** An Evening With Kirk Douglas (FringeNYC) * Sheherizade (FringeNYC) ** The Great Pie Robbery (FringeNYC) ** 1/2 Independents (FringeNYC) *** 1/2 The Dick and The Rose (FringeNYC) ** Magdalen (FringeNYC) *** Bombsheltered (FringeNYC) ** 1/2 Paper Plane (FringeNYC) ** 1/2 Rated M For Murder (FringeNYC) ** 1/2 Mallory/Valerie (FringeNYC) * Non-Equity: The Musical! (FringeNYC) * Blanche: The Bittersweet Life Of A Prairie Dame (FringeNYC) *** 1/2 City Of Shadows (FringeNYC) *** Forbidden Broadway: Alive & Kicking *** Salamander Starts Over (FringeNYC) *** Pieces (FringeNYC) * The Train Driver *** Chaplin The Musical * 1/2 Detroit ** 1/2 Heartless at Signature ** Einstein On The Beach at BAM **** Red-Handed Otter ** 1/2 Marry Me A Little ** An Enemy Of The People ** 1/2 The Old Man And The Old Moon *** 1/2 A Chorus Line at Papermill *** Helen & Edgar *** Grace * 1/2 Cyrano de Bergerac ** Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? *** Disgraced ** Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.</p><p> Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.</p><p> Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free tickets to shows with the understanding that he will beHUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES Katy Perry Abortion John McCain Todd Akin Tigers Robert Gibbs Justin Timberlake Pennsylvania Social Impact Investing Buy a link here www.nugenix.com MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »FOLLOW ARTS 'Nude Men': Leopold Museum Gives Naked Men...</p><p> Halloween Light Show 2012: A 'Gangnam Style'...</p><p> Diego Fazio's Photorealistic Pencil Drawings: So Real...</p><p> Jason D'Aquino's Matchbook Drawings: Artist Creates Miniature...writing a review.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Buy a link here New Policy in New York 2012-Drivers w/ no DUIs eligible for up to 50% off car insurance...</p><p> TheFinanceAuthority.com "How Doctors Lose Weight" New York Celebrity Doctor Reveals His #1 Trick To Lose Weight... iConsumerKnowledge.org Boost Testosterone Levels Men over 40 are seeing shocking boosts in free testosterone with this www.nugenix.com Weird Loophole in New York Long Island City - New trick helps drivers get car insurance for as low as $9… FinanceDigestToday.com More in Arts...</p><p> Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | About Our Ads | Contact Us Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.</p><p> All rights reserved.</p><p> Part of AOL Lifestyle Recency | Popularity Like 28k GET ALERTS Comments 0 Pending Comments 0 View FAQ Post Comment Preview Comment Post to Facebook.</p><p> Post to Blogger.</p><p> Post to Twitter.</p><p> Post to WordPress.</p><p> Post to TypePad.</p><p> Post to Tumblr.To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.</p><p> Share your Comment: View All
