[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE APERTURE (Cleveland Public Theatre)

[Roy Berko]

‘THE APERTURE’ doesn’t
live up to its hype at CPT
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member, American Theatre
Critics Association)
 
--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain County
Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
--cool cleveland.com—
 
Area theatres seem to be
on a “let’s do plays by the same author” kick.   Cleveland Public Theatre is now staging ‘THE APERTURE’
by Sean Christopher Lewis.   Bang and Clatter recently staged Lewis’s ‘MILITANT LANGUAGE.’  A short time ago Nijnas staged ‘CRAVE’
by Sara Kane, who also was the author of Bang and Clatter’s ‘BLASTED.’  Both Lewis and Kane are from the list
of  contemporary writers.  Both tend to use fragmented ideas and
propose abstract messages.  Though
their topics are current, their missions aren’t always clear.
 
Sean Christopher Lewis’s
‘THE APERTURE’ was the winner of the inaugural Quest for Peace Playwriting
Award.  Lewis also has received the
Rosa Parks Award for Social Justice in Playwriting from the Kennedy Center.  Sounds impressive, right?
 
The script details the
story of a boy who was a child soldier in his native Uganda. When he gets to
the U.S., he is befriended by a female photographer who has him pose for
pictures in the backwoods of Baltimore, Maryland, which imitate his warring
past. When she begins to sell and advertise these photos as documentations from
the real conflict, a clash regarding ethics and exploitation develops.
 
The script has had
several staged readings, including a recent presentation at The Cleveland
Public Library, which the playwright attended. 
 
It would be nice to say
that the CPT production lived up to its hype.  Unfortunately, it didn’t. In spite of its intent to delve
into the horrors of war and the effect on the child warrior, and the good
intentions of the photographer to produce “art,” the acting out of each of the
feelings and thoughts, just doesn’t work.  As with ‘MILITANT LANGUAGE’ the writers lack of clarity of purpose led
to audience frustration.  
 
As a crisis counselor I
am very aware of the fragmentation that takes place when an individual has a
horrific experience.  If the
playwright had centered on that subject, and that subject alone, the play would
have been focused.  But also
imposing the question of, “Can art provide a path away from our inherent
violence without inflicting some amount of cruelty on its subject?,” just
confused the focus.
 
Director Craig George has
proven that he is an exceptional director.  His 2006 production of ‘M4M’ at CPT, received the Times
Theatre Tributes Best Production of the Year Award.  But even George couldn’t save this show.  A combination of abstract ideas which
were poorly woven together, some technical decisions, and some questionable acting,
sealed the production’s  doom.
 
Young and handsome Isaiah
Isaac, put in full-effort to create Okello John, the Ugandan boy solider.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the
acting depth to consistently produce the needed pronunciation, while keeping
the character intact.  He was often hard to understand and many of the lines lacked
meaning.
 
Heather
Anderson Boll tried vainly to make Alex, the photographer, into a real and
textured person.  The words she was
given to speak, and the fragmented and abstract nature of the idea development,
got in her way.
 
The audience was greeted while entering the
theatre by high pitched screeching music.   The purpose for this cacophony of sound was unclear.
Was it intended to give the idea that we were about to experience an atonal
play?  Only the unidentified sound
director might be able to answer that question.
 
C. Wesley
Crump’s’ photographs, as displayed in Tom Kondilas’s projections, generally
worked well.
 
Capsule
judgement:   If you like your
theatre abstract, than Sean Christopher Lewis may be your type of
playwright.  As for me, I like
plays with a clearmessage, or at
least a message that I can glean from a good discussion.  ‘THE APERTURE’ didn’t fulfill those
needs!   The CPT production
doesn’t help much either.
 The
plays run through  March 28.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on
line to www.cptonline.org 

 Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2009, 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 subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)