By: Darryl Reilly
“I feel like a shriveled-up zucchini in the back of the refrigerator” cracks the vivacious 79-year-old Kathryn Grody in her hilarious and insightful self-written solo show The Unexpected 3rd. During this witty and universal exploration of aging and the inevitability of death, she vigorously dances to a Tina Turner rendition of “Proud Mary.” The show’s title references the last third of life; its subtitle is “A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive.” It is.
A bubbly voice, a limber physicality and a beaming stage presence, are all traits which the quirky Ms. Grody possesses. These qualities and her distinctive sensibility enable her to command the stage for 90 minutes while delivering her stream of consciousness-style recitation.
Grody was born in Los Angeles, studied acting at HB Studio, has screen credits dating back to the 1970’s, and performed prominently onstage including other solo shows. She played the cranky Nell who stands in a trashcan in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame. She offers a tender tribute to her co-star of that New York City production, theater legend Alvin Epstein.
The Unexpected 3rd is necessarily part show business memoir. She cites her frustration that an Off-Broadway show she was in didn’t go further. Of course, the six years younger Mandy Patinkin looms as they have been married since 1980. The duo were acting in a play together and went out for a casual dinner afterward. “I’m going to marry you!” he declared. She shrugged him off as she envisioned a bohemian life for herself in the manner of Isadora Duncan “but without the scarf.”
“We had two separations; we refer to those as ‘our troubles’.” They have two sons. One of whom video recorded their entertaining interactions during the pandemic. These internet postings went viral, accruing four million followers. The passage of time is connoted when Grody reminisces about having given birth, and then reccounts playing with her son’s newborn son.
The Unexpected 3rd has been a work in progress for three and a half years Grody announces at the start, she is carrying a bundle of type-written pages which she joyously throws up into the air. The majority of the show is memorized while for a few portions she subtly glances at pages on two music stands which contain new and often topical material. This includes a screed against Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk. Having come of age in the 1960’s amidst the civil rights movement, anti-Viet Nam War activism, and feminism, Grody is expectedly political.
A hip replacement, referring to her white hair, having an empty nest, and condescension from those younger, are among the spurs for observations on growing old. A well-meaning restaurant host offers her the opportunity to use the ground floor employee’s restroom as opposed to the public restroom down a flight of stairs; this incites an uproarious tirade. There is also the elegiac dimension that both of her Jewish parents died in their 50’s; she has gone on so long without them.
At the performance under review, Grody stated that no two performances are the same before launching into a first-time concluding portion. Previously, she mirthfully chronicled her Jewish Buddhist monk brother’s life. Now, she emotionally detailed his death from cancer a year earlier.
Director Timothy Near has Grody when not energetically in motion strategically placed, resulting in gorgeous stage pictures and tableaus. Nina Bell’s atmospheric scenic design consists of a vintage-style chaise lounge, file cabinets, and a striking parchment-type backdrop covered with Grody’s handwriting and drawings. Lighting designer Cat Tate Starmer’s bold and varying hues are an ideal visual accompaniment. Frederick Kennedy’s sound design crisply renders the plentiful musical bits and effects including blaring New York City sounds. Costume designer Naomi Lachter smartly clothes Grody in a long, flowing vermilion blouse and gray slacks. The unison of all these elements endows the presentation with ravishing theatricality.
Kathryn Grody will be 80 years old in November; The Unexpected 3rd is a laudatory personal and professional achievement. The show was originally produced by the Pennsylvania-based theater company People’s Light. This incarnation is presented by the New York Theatre Workshop as part of its In the Bricks Festival, a selection of solo shows.
The Unexpected 3rd (through June 14, 2026)
In the Bricks Festival
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 E 4th Street, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.nytw.org
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission