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August 27, 2004
TT: Is seeing believing?
Friday again, and I'm back in The Wall Street Journal with my weekly drama column. Today's centerpiece is Guantánamo: "Honor Bound to Defend Freedom," which I found problematic for a whole welter of reasons:"Guantánamo" is a dramatization by Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo of material drawn from interviews, letters, transcripts of public hearings and other documents. It asserts that several British nationals currently detained at the U.S. naval base on Cuba's Guantánamo Bay are innocent--and that all 585 detainees, whom the Pentagon claims are terrorists with ties to al Qaeda or the Taliban, are being treated like "animals."
Theatrically speaking, the trouble with "Guantánamo," which opened last night at 45 Bleecker, is that it isn't really a play. The script consists of undigested slabs of talk, coarsely woven together and staged by Nicolas Kent and Sacha Wares in the manner of a political cartoon, with some actors addressing the audience directly and others miming in the background on a sketchy prison-camp set. Though the performers, including Kathleen Chalfant ("Wit"), do their best to give it life, the first act is dull, and while the second act is more compelling, it's still dramatically inert. (The audience response at the preview I saw was tepid.)
But "Guantánamo" isn't a debate, either. Instead, it's more like a reading of the court record of a show trial in which only one side was allowed to speak....
I also reported on six New York International Fringe Festival plays, all of them favorably. Since five of the six shows are still open (Chris Earle's brilliantly polished Radio :30 has ended its run), I'll reprint my capsule reviews here, with a strong recommendation that you try to catch at least one of them between now and Sunday:
- "The Bicycle Men," written and performed by a lunatic quartet of Chicago-based comedians, is a zany mini-musical about a nerdy American tourist (Dave Lewman) whose bicycle breaks down in a French village. Deliciously Francophobic mayhem ensues, interrupted at random intervals by totally irrelevant songs. A hoot and a half (Players Theatre, Saturday at 4:45 p.m.).
- Negin Farsad's "Bootleg Islam" is an eye-opening I-was-there monologue by a second-generation Iranian-American woman who went to Tehran for her cousin's wedding and saw more than she bargained for. More a stand-up routine than a fully developed one-person show, but smart, funny and fascinating all the same (Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art, Friday at 9:15 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m.).
- "Go Robot Go," written by and starring Julie Shavers, is a school-of-"Avenue-Q" play with music (the band does most of the singing) about late-capitalist alienation among the twentysomething cubicle dwellers of New York. Philip Carluzzo's score needs to be built up, but the script, staging and performances--especially Ms. Shavers' sweetly gawky star turn--are ready for prime time (Our Lady of Pompeii Demo Hall, Saturday at 9 p.m.).
- Colin Campbell's "Golden Prospects: A Los Angeles Melodrama" is a postmodern boo-and-hisser about dirty work in the orange groves and oil fields of sunny California. Lively, unpretentious fun (Linhart Theatre, Sunday at 2:45 p.m.).
- Rolin Jones' "The Jammer: A Roller Derby Love Story" is a charmer about a nice Catholic boy from Coney Island (Kevin Rich) who skates his way to the small time. Though the script is a bit too thin to stand on its own, it'd make a fabulous book for a rock-and-roller-skate musical. Outstanding direction and choreography by Greg Felden and Tim Acito (Players Theatre, Friday at 5 p.m.).
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Posted August 27, 2004 12:03 PM
