SEARCH CurtainUp
REVIEWS
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
LA/San Diego
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
On TKTS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for CurtainUp NYC Weather
The Shooting Stage
By Jenny Sandman
|
A photograph's not a bullet. It can't be so clearly traced to its origin.
. ---Len It's an ugly business, growing up.----Elliott |
Noah Peters and Hunter Gilmore
|
Len and Malcolm are former child TV stars who have lost contact with each other. Len is brought up on charges of child pornography--a recent exhibit of his features an old picture of Malcolm, taken when he was 16 and Len was 14. Malcolm, now a lawyer, comes to Len's defense and we slowly realize the tangle of deceit that he has spun over the years.
Malcolm's gay son Elliott is a shy, effeminateteenager. He cultivates a vivid fantasy life (and then, a secret life as a drag queen) in order to escape the daily horror that is high school. But his chief tormentor, Derrick, is having a secret affair with Malcolm. His only friendship, with Derrick's friend Ivan, blossoms into a secret affair of its own--which Ivan then refuses to acknowledge. Gradually, all the secret relationships are revealed, and Malcolm and Len must uncover their mutual abuse and subsequent sexual dysfunctions.
It's a snarl of subplots and characters, which Michael Lewis Maclennan (Queer as Folk) handles with aplomb. But the overall effect is choppy. Maclennan has written fascinating, well-rounded characters and he should let them speak for themselves without explaining things too much. He also has too many scenes solely dedicated to character development. Learning new things about the characters is great, but not at the expense of advancing the story. If these character revealing scenes can't be integral to the plot, they should be cut. I suspect that this problem stems from Maclennan's being accustomed to writing for a television series in which character development usually takes precedence over plot movement.
Fortunately director John Pinckard has assembled a strong cast. While the actors don't quite make up for the text's deficiencies, they are dynamic, and really seem to understand their characters. Hunter Gilmore's vulnerability as Elliott perfectly captures the angst of gay adolescence but it's difficult to single out individual performances because all are powerful.
The production itself is simple but strong. The lighting (Rob Henderson) and costumes (Alexis Hadsall) are quite good. Pinckard could do a better job with the pacing (which starts and stops) and with reigning in his actors' admittedly cultivated nervous energy. In the world of The Shooting Stage everyone is dysfunctional and we're reminded that in our most intimate moments, we are all inherently awkward. Since the play's energy revolves around fear and mistrust, there's very little to contrast that with--no joy, no laughter, and minimal real human connection.
Maclennan is a talented writer. Despite the script's unevenness, it shows off his potential as a playwright for the theater.
|
THE SHOOTING STAGE Written by Michael Lewis Maclennan Directed by John Pinckard With Christopher Durham, Hunter Gilmore, Ben Masur, Noah Peters and Robin Taylor Set, Design by Jason Lajka Costume Design by Alexis Hadsall Lighting Design by Rob Henderson Sound Design by Julie Pittman Original Music by Craig Limkin Running time: Two hours and ten minutes with one ten-minute intermission Tesseract Theatre, The Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street, 212-352-3101. Wednesday through Saturday at 8 pm. All tickets $15. 02/24/05 through 03/19/05 Reviewed by Jenny Sandman based on March 2nd performance Reviewed by Elyse Sommer based on performance |
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures.
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review
At This Theater
Leonard Maltin's 2005 Movie Guide
Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam
6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
Click image to buy.
Go here for details and larger image.
