True West

C-

Regular readers of this blog may recall that, over the years, the plays of Sam Shepard have held little appeal for me. For what ever reason, I seem to have little affinity for his sensibility. That being said, I must admit that Shepard often writes roles that are absolute catnip for actors. Such is the case with this play. Since it premiered in 1980, the roles of brothers Lee and Austin have been filled by high-powered actors like Tommy Lee Jones and Peter Boyle, Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, Bob Hoskins and Anthony Sher, and, in the much-praised 2000 Circle in the Square revival, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Reilly, who alternated roles. The current Roundabout production stars Ethan Hawke (Macbeth, The Coast of Utopia, “Boyhood”) as the charismatic rebel and sometime burglar Lee and Paul Dano (A Free Man of Color. “Love and Mercy”) as his younger brother, the buttoned-up married screenwriter Austin. As a fan of Hawke’s film career, I was driven by curiosity to see him despite my usual misgivings about Shepard. Hawke does not disappoint; his performance is high-energy and, at times, over the top. Dano, in the less showy role, comes into his own during the second act. When the play opens, Lee has turned up at his mother’s home in Southern California to find her away on vacation in Alaska and his brother Austin, whom he has not seen in five years, house-sitting for her. Austin has been struggling to close a film deal with producer Saul Kimmer (Gary Wilmes; If I Forget, Chinglish). When Lee butts into their meeting, he manages to talk Kimmer into a game of golf that leads to Kimmer’s decision to produce a Western based on Lee’s idea instead of Austin’s script. After a slow, mostly uneventful first act, mayhem ensues after intermission. There are some very funny scenes, many of which involve skillfully executed physical humor. The brothers reverse roles to an extent. A disillusioned Lee now finds Austin’s carefree life appealing. Their mother (Marylouise Burke (Fish in the Dark, Fuddy Mears), wasted in an underwritten role) arrives home unexpectedly to find a scene of utter chaos. The play ends on an ambiguous note. James Macdonald’s (The Children, Cloud Nine) direction is fine in many details but does not overcome the slow pace of the first act. Mimi Lien’s (The Lifespan of a Fact, Fairview) set recreates a kitchen and breakfast room befitting a middle-aged suburban lady. In what seems to have become a scenic cliche this season, the stage has an illuminated frame that lights up very brightly between scenes. Kaye Voyce’s (Significant Other, The Nap) costumes suit their characters well. While the play had its moments, it ultimately did not seem to have much point, at least to me. Perhaps I have OD’ed on dysfunctional families. Running time: two hours 15 minutes including intermission.

LaBute New Theater Festival 2019

C+

This year’s edition of the festival, once again presented by St. Louis Actors’ Studio, differs from previous years in that all the plays —a  two-hander sandwiched by two monologues — are premieres by LaBute himself. In the first play, “The Fourth Reich,” Karl (Eric Dean White), a mild-mannered middle-aged man laments that Hitler gets a bad rap because some of his mistakes have been allowed to erase his accomplishments. His prized possession is a watercolor by Hitler in which he sees the promise of a bright future. If LaBute intended to provoke, his circumspect treatment has undermined that intent. In a sense, Karl’s polite demeanor and failure to raise his voice makes his words more chilling, but it doesn’t make for lively theater. In the second play, “Great Negro Works of Art,” we meet Jerri (Brenda Meaney; Indian Ink, Incognito) a thirty-something white woman, and Tom (Keilyn Durrel Jones; SummerShorts), a light-skinned black man, in a museum on their first date after connecting on an online dating site. Their attempts at light banter repeatedly trip over political correctness and racial sensitivities, revealing that LaBute’s knack for dialogue that is both amusing and revealing is still intact. The final and, in my opinion, least successful work is “Unlikely Japan.” While half-watching the news, Katie (Gia Crovatin; The Money Shot) learns that an old boyfriend was one of the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting. Rather than feeling sad, she feels bad and that makes her sad. Got that? She relates the story of their high-school romance including the really cruel way she ended it and wonders whether a change in her behavior then might have produced a different outcome now. There did not seem to be a clear point to the story. As is often the case with LaBute, the women do not come off well; one is a bit dim and the other lacks compassion. I don’t see how it unites the plays, but a quotation from John — “the truth shall make you free” — is used in each. In all three plays, LaBute seems to be holding back and showing a muted, less confrontational side. The actors in all three plays were first-rate. The first two plays were directed by frequent collaborator John Pierson and the third, by the playwright. The bare-bones set is by Patrick Huber and the costumes, by Megan Harshaw. Before the play, I had a conversation with LaBute, who was most accessible and congenial. I learned from him that the Davenport Theater will close after this production. Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission.

NOTE: The first play had a particular resonance for me. At the Ufffizi Gallery, I once wandered into an exhibit of attractive watercolors. Apparently, i had inadvertently entered through the exit, so it was not until I reached the far end of the gallery that I discovered that the watercolors were by Hitler. It was an upsetting moment that raised the difficult question of whether we can or should distinguish between a creation and its creator.