The play was a tour de force exploration of the wounded psyche of the main protagonist. It was also a bit of a cluster fuck. Like a quilt full of beloved ideas that's stitching was coming apart at seams all over the place. The design lacks cohesion so that even the parts that are trying to stay together don't make sense. Any give patch has the possibility of being clear, and then the next one is tenuously attached if at all.
Simply put, it came across very much like an early draft. There are too many ideas without a viable through line. By the time we bit intermission, intermission was 15 minutes late! In other words, there was at least 15 minutes worth a dialogue that easily could have been removed--it was tedious. The only clear idea was that the lead character of Wallace Tre was really fucked up and hellbent on fucking up the best part of his life, but why? Halfway through the second half, I thought, "OH...it's just a play about gay men cruising in the park at night." But that was just of the many possibilities.
The set was simple and elegant. The cast compliment of 6 with 4 members playing multiple characters. The lighting design was basic, the costume design clean to compelling. I loved the choices made for the Character, Free.
The Actors were all seasoned and handled the dialogue with a professional competency, with moments of delight and flare. The delight was delivered by non-binary actor, Jade Jones as Nana Jae, Free's foul-mouthed free-spirited grandmother. The flare belonged single-handedly in the work of Nic Ashe as the younger boyfriend of the lead protagonist. First off, the role is the most solidly written and only unfrays during the latter moments of the second act. He was the embodiment of playful sexy and wise beyond his years. Hands down my favorite actor in the ensemble.
Over dinner I mused about how I would love to see him take on either Romeo or Hamlet in a Shakespeare production--I have no doubt that he would be up to the task.
Another notable aspect of the play was its disregard for the expectations of the 4th wall. That imaginary barrier between the audience and the performers. Audience members were invited to participate en mass as well as, in ad hoc moments as individuals. And finally, at the very end, as the two main characters are wed, a couple from the audience steps up and is married or renews their vows. During this performance a lovely couple with over 60 years together renewed their vows.
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