Despite warnings, playwrights continue to fall into the trap of dangerous, self-referential lines. Like "I'm glad there's some other level to this," spoken by a character in Thomas Cork's Pillow Case. Unfortunately, the play, which details the disintegration of a three-night stand between Ian (Davide Langs), a definite top, and neurotic bottom Jason (Salvatore Brierik), offers no subtext at all. The characters tend to speak in the tones of an encounter group; Jason a stagy drama queen and Ian an uncomprehending ordinary guy. That they split up is no great surprise; the play has less development than a scene in a longer play.
New Hope, by Bob Quinn, presents a dysfunctional relationship among three friends and a stranger. The friends include two older men (one, Tom, played by the far too young Joseph Covino). The play rotates around Ron (egregiously overplayed by John Beebout), who is trying to spoil a chess game with Tom when a stranger (Tigran Eldred) shows up and captures Ron's heart. He immediately avows a passionate interest in chess and proclaims himself a teacher - and he'll be glad to teach the newcomer (wink wink nudge nudge). The chess business was spoiled by nonsensical moves and positions.
The outline suggests possibilities for a situation comedy, but the play suffers from over- and under-writing - the former from too much repetitive dialog; the latter from turn-on-a-dime character transitions. Ron primps up a storm for his intended and tries to manipulate and lie to his friends. It's no surprise when he drives off the stranger, whose only character trait is that he's a simp, and Ron is left alone in the rain, having also driven off the only real friends he has in the world. (Also featuring Bob Quinn.)
Father's Day, by Matthew J. Heftler, presents a gay man (Davide Langs) confronting a legislator (Tom Fenaughty) in his office to ask that he reverse his expected vote on gay adoption. This play offered nuanced characters and portrayals and a real conflict resolved. In other words, it's a real play, performed by real actors. (Though one still marred by redundancy, in which characters tell each other things they already know, and the occasional contradiction.)
Step Aside, by Frank Hertle, is a thin sketch about two guys meeting on the street. One (Joseph Corvino) refuses to let the other (Salvatore Brierik) pass by, trying to prove through various head games that he is the stronger. When the second guy gets fed up, he stabs the first guy. The twist of the knife suggests the playwright couldn't think of a way to get out of the conflict within the rules of his play, and pulled the plug with melodrama.
The acting for the evening, with the noted exceptions, tended to the monochromatic, underlined with stabs of directorial mascara. The scenic needs were met by a few simple set pieces. Lighting was bare bones, and not up to the demands of moonlight in the first play.
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Pillow Case |
New Hope |
Father's Day |
Step Aside |
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Directing |
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Set |
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Costumes |
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Lighting/Sound |
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Copyright 2001 John Chatterton