Junk by Ayad Akhtar is described as “a gripping financial thriller set in the ruthless world of 1980s Wall Street, exposing the greed and ambition that fueled the junk bond market.” The show is filled with more finance jargon than you can shake a Treasury bond at and more actors than usual, especially post-pandemic, 17. Packed with sophistication and focus, Junk hurtles through the up-and-down rollercoaster of volatile financial markets and the junketeers who keep shaking it up.
Jonathan Muhlberg captures the intensity of Robert Merkin (loosely based on financier Michael Milken) as he packages dreams and envisions expanding his financial reach (and wealth) with unstoppable verve. His methods in defining, forecasting, and manipulating unappreciated bonds result in billions with a “B” in assets, which may (or may not) translate into actual monetary value — depending on timing. Under the right conditions, he expands the wealth and lines the pockets of his compadres and allies and funders. Not quite the wizard behind the curtain, he’s still the mastermind behind the trading that wreaks havoc on the traditional stock market. The trusty old Grandpa Dow Jones just doesn’t know what to do with this newfangled way of handling debt, leveraging it, bonding it, and selling it. Ayad Akhtar’s script maneuvers through the gyrations while terrific performances and Fletcher Lowe’s phenomenal direction pull everyone along. It’s an incredible ride.
The telephone wires, huge handheld phones, and power suits smack you back to 1985. It’s here where financial wizardry of junk bonds got its nascent introduction on Wall Street, impacting the New York Stock Exchange and then everybody’s lives and livelihoods along the way.
The rich get richer and the poor…? Well, you know the rest. A family-run Pennsylvania steel mill comes into the clutches of the debt financiers, who dangle leveraged buyouts to the stockholders, making them millionaires in a hostile takeover bid. Bill Bodie plays Tom Everson Jr., the trusted chairman who doesn’t have a chance but valiantly tries to save the company’s three-generation legacy and thousands of jobs of loyal workers. It’s the devastation of the Rust Belt and companies across the country that reverberates here and now, and this production gets everything right to show how some of it happened.
Director Fletcher Lowe kept the pace, set pieces, and people moving with impeccable precision — a trio of characters enters here, a quartet goes there, it was a master class in direction. He also ensured a clear depiction of each character. In one ingenious scene of four at a table, two talked across from each other in different time sequences from the others, toggling between them in separate conversations, maintaining clarity and intention among all of them. It was remarkable.
Now on to some of the rest of the full cast of 17 who made it all work, several of them even playing an additional role
Seasoned actor Andrew Greenleaf as Leo Tresler has a lean, muscular, chiseled look and unstoppable charisma that he uses to get what he wants when he wants it. At one point, preparing for a formal affair, in standout costuming by Stephenie Yee, he even ties a perfectly knotted bow tie, looking at a blank column like it’s a mirror while spouting about his latest financial conquest — not easy.
Helen Cheng Mao as Judy Chen starts off as a no-nonsense journalist digging around to get her finance story before she lets Leo try his love moves on her. Alan Gonzalez Bisnes, George Kassouf, Nicholas Temple, and Gary Sullivan all deliver urgency in their roles. Stan Rosen is almost unrecognizable as hesitant informant Murray Lefkowitz trying not to get scrunched in the melee of a finance meltdown. Leanna Saler, as Bob’s wife Amy, is a standout, matching his finance-tech savvy with flashes of a cut-throat Lady Macbeth while holding down the home front as a nursing mom, like Ginger dancing backward in heels to her Fred. The interactions among the characters felt almost Shakespearian in intensity and drive as they delivered their lines rapid fire while moving deliberately through the moments.
Set design by Kim Leone was deceivingly minimal, just a raised flooring. But then characters roll in tables and chairs, a couch, a desk as settings ranging from an intimate living room to an office and a restaurant.
Lighting by Don Slater coordinated with sound design by the multi-tasking Fletcher Lowe added intensity and suspense, keeping us sometimes literally on the edge of our seats. Pam Burks’ projections on the back and side walls frame the set, state settings, display characters names, and expand visual locations enhancing clarity.
A New York Times review said the 2017 premiere unfolded “with the crispness and legibility of a conscientiously assembled spreadsheet,” and that’s just what happens here. You don’t have to understand the numbers and formulas because the characters live in the moments with such urgency that you’ll feel like you’re right there. Junk feels present because we’re living with the impact of unscrupulous insider trading and greed. Current studies indicate that we’re dealing with the largest income disparity in American history, and the divide isn’t shrinking anytime soon, so the message is topical and real. Junk is a glimpse of the inner world of bond trading that’s both real and surreal. This is an ambitious production, totally beyond the scope of a typical community theater. That it can be mounted with such panache at Silver Spring Stage speaks volumes about the caliber and depth of the company. Founded in 1968, the Stage has been around for 55 years and keeps cranking out shows in line with its mission of producing “entertaining and thought-provoking plays.” I saw a professional production of Junk at a major professional theater several years ago, and to me, this Silver Spring production was just as good and shouldn’t be missed.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
Junk plays through November 10, 2024 (Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 pm) at Silver Spring Stage, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD. Purchase tickets ($25, with discounts for seniors and students) at the door or online. For more information, call (301) 593-6036, visit the website, or email contact@ssstage.org.
COVID Safety: Masks are encouraged but not required.
Junk
By Ayad Akhtar
CAST
Robert Merkin: Jonathan Muhlberg
Raul Rivera: Alan Gonzalez Bisnes
Israel Peterman: Nicholas Temple
Boris Pronsky: George Kassouf
Tom Everson Jr: Bill Bodie
Judy Chen: Helen Cheng Mao
Maxine Cizik: Jill Goodrich
Leo Tressler: Andrew Greenleaf
Amy Merkin: Leanna Saler
Giuseppe Joe Adesso: Gary Sullivan
Kevin Walsh: Axande Oge.
Mark O’Hare: Seth Rose
Devon Atkins/Merkin’s lawyer: Stefan Mitrovic
Corrigan Wiley: Mark Regini
Murray Lefkowitz: Stan Rosen
Charlene: Yael Schoenbaum
PRODUCTION TEAM
Produced by Shaq Stewart
Directed by Fletcher Lowe
Production Stage Manager: Jen Kochaver
Set Designer: Kim Leone
Properties Designer: Ramah Johnson
Costume Designer: Stephenie Yee
Lighting Designer: Don Slater
Sound Designer: Fletcher Lowe
