Bill Pullman (left) and David Harbour in Mad House at the Ambassadors Theatre
(Picture: Marc Brenner)Floral, yellowing wallpaper; mismatched, rickety chairs; an array of antiquated knick-knacks; a grimy fridge offering beers aplenty but little by way of nourishment. This Pennsylvania home is in decay, and so is its patriarch.
Theatre veteran Bill Pullman plays the cantankerous, emphysema-riddled Daniel, who’s well on his way to death, but not going down without a fight. David Harbour (well-loved for his portrayal of Hopper in Netflix series Stranger Things) is his mentally ill son Michael, returned home to – begrudgingly – take care of his ailing father, who showers his child with vitriol as thanks. Help comes when they’re sent the patient but fierce hospice nurse Lillian (Akiya Henry), who finds herself involuntarily entangled in their web of family toxicity. Siblings Ned (Stephen Wight) and Pam (Sinéad Matthews) arrive soon after, motivated less by familial love and more by a thirst to uncover how much money might be coming their way after dad croaks.
