Lighting Up Off-Off-Broadway

Emergency
Used Candles, the
slight, charming new one-person show starring and written by
Chiara Montalto and directed by Victoria Malvagno, raises a surprisingly large question for such a personal
production. An hour-long play based on Montalto’s own experience living with
her grandfather as his caretaker, Emergency Used Candles begs the question: What constitutes a
show worth our time?

For the first
few moments of the show, I must admit that I didn’t think Montalto had it.
Recounting the rituals and comedy inherent in a twenty-something living with
her octogenarian grandfather, Montalto’s sudden switches between the two
characters and wide-eyed, child-like delivery as the granddaughter were
initially off-putting. Listening to her stories about workplace romances gone
awry, or brief anecdotes about the elderly friends of her grandfather, I
uncharitably wondered why we cared.

As the show
progressed, however, and Montalto relaxed into her story, Emergency Used
Candles acquired a
certain battered charm. Montalto became a stand-in for anyone who has ever
cared for an elderly relative; the details are different, but the emotions are
the same. Good theater, at its most basic, should simultaneously accomplish two
things: entertain and enlighten the audience. And by the time Montalto’s piece
of theater had ended, she had more than accomplished both. Plays don’t need to
be two-and-a-half hours long, with a 10-minute intermission to be effective.
Sometimes, all you need is a barebones set and a story worth hearing. You’ll
find both at Emergency Used Candles.

Emergency
Used Candles, through Nov. 20,
Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St. (betw. Bedford & Barrow Sts.),
212-239-6200; $35.