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Review: 3 millennials honor ‘This Is Our Youth’

By WTOP Staff

MARK KENNEDY
AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Ah, youth. It’s messy, confusing, possibly dangerous — particularly when enveloped in a marijuana haze.

A truly well-oiled — should we say well-rolled? — revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s “This Is Our Youth” opened Thursday on Broadway at the Cort Theatre with a super cast of rising-star millennials playing Gen-Xers.

Michael Cera, making his New York stage debut, once again perfectly captures being an awkward man-boy, while veteran fashionista and acting newbie Tavi Gevinson matches his goofy nervous energy. Kieran Culkin is marvelous as their smug, narcissistic friend. Spending two hours watching these wealthy, unmoored slackers is a treat, even without the contact high.

The production, which premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago this past summer, is directed by Anna D. Shapiro, who knows her way around onstage arguments (“August: Osage County”) and movie stars (James Franco in “Of Mice and Men”). She keeps this revival fresh and electric, crackling with energy even as the stoned get more stoned.

Set in 1982 at the beginning of the Reagan Era, the entire play takes place over two days at the Upper West Side apartment of Dennis (Culkin), a small-time drug dealer with wealthy parents. He gets an unexpected visit from his weird friend Warren (Cera), who fled home after having a disagreement with his dad and taking $15,000 (“the proceeds from my unhappy childhood”).

They come up with a dangerous plan to return the money and avoid punishment. It involves spending more of it on cocaine, reselling it and then attempting to use the proceeds to get Warren hooked up with his secret crush, Jessica (Gevinson).

Lonergan’s script is baked with fun as these hyper-intellectual, born-with-a-silver-spoon, sushi-eating kids pretend at being well-adjusted humans, all the while tossing around SAT prep words like “prototypical” and “expedient.”

These are people who shop for smoked salmon at Zabar’s, drink Dom Perignon and have enough upper-class breeding to run to a Plaza Hotel suite in order to romance a girlfriend. (Not Dennis, though: He thinks the snazzy Pierre hotel is better). But none can pay for it with their own cash.

Cera’s Warren is gloriously unpolished, a guy with his hand permanently stuffed into a pants pocket and a collection of toy memorabilia. He moves jerkily, as if he’s uncomfortable in his own skin, and he’s antsy enough to just pick up a football and toss it indoors like the boy he once was. Watching him finally stick up for himself at the end is glorious.

Culkin, with his flippy haircut and polo shirt, is smarmy ’80s perfection. He’s that cocky boyfriend in a John Hughes movie who initially attracts Molly Ringwald only to be revealed for the boor he really is. Dennis fancies himself a leader and entrepreneur but is insecure enough to want to be worshipped for being a leader and entrepreneur. He probably grew up to be a stock broker who wore suspenders and lost everything in the dot-com bubble.

Gevinson walks into this drug-fueled morass with an innocence, integrity and sincerity that’s refreshing. She’s as ardent as Warren about her opinions and dances like, well, Molly Ringwald in “The Breakfast Club.” She and Warren make a love connection but neither is mature enough to handle it, and it dissolves in a faux-fight so skillfully executed by Lonergan that neither really knows what happened.

This is a production that makes a sly nod to our own nostalgia. For example, everyone stops to stare at a ringing phone to wonder who is on the other side (it’s 1982, remember) and Culkin’s ability to snap the long, irritating phone cord like a lion tamer will remind you of pre-iPhone days. Todd Rosenthal’s single set with a Richard Prior poster, a clunky TV and crates of records also takes you back.

Little touches — like Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij’s instrumental music between scenes that ranges from ominous to playful — add luster to a show that’s very specific in terms of time and place but seems to capture each new generation as it finds itself in no man’s land — too old to play with toys and yet too young to really enjoy itself.

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Online: http://thisisouryouthbroadway.com

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Mark Kennedy is on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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