[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE BANK GUARDS (4th Wall Productions)

[Roy Berko]

Fourth Wall’s ‘THE BANK GUARDS’ less than hoped for

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

COOLCLEVELAND.COM


Fourth Wall Productions, which is now staging the
world premiere of Mathew Sprosty’s ‘THE BANK GUARDS,’
is one of those new small theatre companies whose
dreams often exceed their results.  

Sprosty, a promising playwright, is the author of one
of last year’s top local plays, ‘MALICIOUS BUNNY.’  I
recognized the author and the play with a Times
Theatre Award.  He has a “hip” way of writing, a new
wave attitude, and comes up with clever plot twists.  
The hip, the new wave and the plot twists are present
in his newest work, ‘THE BANK GUARDS;’ but, they don’t
work as well this time.  

The play is filled with too many improbables and the
staging leaves much to be desired.  

The story centers on a group of bank guards who plot
to hold up their own bank.  They, of course, have no,
or at best, a vague plan.  A teenager, who has pulled
off a series of bank robberies, finds out about the
plot and tries to weasel in on the heist.  There is
in-fighting and counter-plotting.  And, a “surprise”
ending.  

Sounds like an interesting premise.  It is, kind of. 
The problem is that there are just too many
improbables.  Why are the guards, who say several
times that they are not allowed to thwart robberies in
the bank, wearing guns while off-duty?  Since this
takes place in Cleveland, which has a law against
carrying unconcealed weapons, why would these guys be
walking around with exposed, holstered guns?  Why are
the guards so concerned about wiping fingerprints off
door knobs after “the” murder (I don’t want to give
too much of the plot away here), but are oblivious to
the blood in the middle of the floor?  (By the way,
even though the blood is referred to, we never see
it.)  How does the teenager find out where the
“meeting” is being held?  Are these guys really that
stupid that they would go into this plot without a
plot?  The over use of calling one character “old” and
another “kid” becomes tedious after a while.  I could
go on, but hopefully you get the point.

The production, under the directorship of Rebacca
Cole, is as uneven as the play.  Several of the
performances, however, are quite good.  Michael Riffle
(Ben), as the Iraq vet, has some nice moments,
especially after he loses his faked attitude and
becomes the real Ben.  Ric Barr, as the “old” man is
believable in his portrayal.   The rest of the cast is
inconsistent in character development, going in and
out of character
alternating feigning anger and
control and angst and more control.  I didn’t believe
any of them was a real person with real motives.  It
may be the writing, it may be the directing.  The
over-lapping of spoken lines, the mumbling, the use of
obscenity for no purpose than to sound “hip,” all add
up to a lack of smooth ebb and flow of ideas and
reality.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   I really want Fourth Wall
Productions to succeed.   It is dedicated to doing
shows that appeal to and should draw in younger
audiences, which local theatre desperately needs. 
However, their productions are so inconsistent that it
will be hard to build a loyal audience.  In addition,
their location, on E. 105th Street in Cleveland,
though there is a lighted parking lot, may turn off
the less secure from attending.

(BTW
some one should really edit the programs.  My
wife, a former English teacher, whipped out her trusty
red pencil and started to make corrections as soon as
she started reading.  She wound up making lots of red
marks!  Also, why was there no notation of the place
in which the play took place, or the time and whether
there was an intermission?)

Fourth Wall Productions is located at Enterprise
Center Building at 540 East 105th St. #221 in
Cleveland, at the Bratenhal line.  Obtain tickets by
calling (330) 283-2442 or e-mailing
tickets at fourthwallproductions.com. 

The company’s next show, ‘DOG SEES GOD,’ concerns
eating disorders, teen violence and sexual identity
and careens toward a haunting and hopeful ending.  The
show runs from July 17-27.


Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2008, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscibe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)