[NEohioPAL] Review of "True West" at convergence-continuum

[Bob Abelman]

Tremont's con-con fails to find the true north of 'True West'

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 11/23/12

 

 

Sam Shepard's "True West," currently on stage at convergence-continuum's Liminis Theatre, is on the to-do list of every serious actor.  

 

The play is essentially a two-hander about estranged brothers who find themselves back in their family home in Southern California while their mother is away on vacation.  Austin, an unassuming screenwriter, has been asked to house-sit while he works on his latest project.  Lee, an unpredictable loner and volatile petty thief, just happens to be in the neighborhood and in the kitchen as lights come up and the play begins.

 

What makes "True West" such a choice vehicle for performers and so intriguing for audiences is its lean storytelling, its romantic yet skeptical worldview, and its exploration of the precarious relationship between siblings.  

 

Its nine scenes-distinctive movements, really-examine the distrust and the palatable discomfort between these two very different men.  Each scene stirs up a range of escalating emotions as the brothers battle their past, their personal demons and, eventually, each other.  Although extreme opposites, they are emphatically envious of one another and share the fear of turning into their aimless, alcoholic father.  By play's end, each brother has morphed into the other and has moved closer to becoming their old man, which must be as challenging and satisfying to perform as it is to observe. 

 

Also driving this play are layers and layers of subtext.

 

In part, "True West" is about the disappearance of the old West, represented by Lee, at the hands of an ever-encroaching and civilized suburbia, personified by Austin.  It turns a critical eye on the commercialization of art.  And, as with most of Shepard's thought-provoking plays, this one hints at the state of the American Dream. 

 

Revealing and peeling these many layers requires performers up to the task.  The brilliant Gary Sinise and John Malkovich teamed up to perform this complex play at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.  Tommy Lee Jones and Peter Boyle joined forces at The Public Theatre in New York, while Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly performed in a more recent Broadway production that earned Tony Award nominations for both actors. 

 

Convergence-continuum regulars Geoffrey Hoffman and Cliff Bailey pick up the mantle in director Clyde Simon's sedate and sadly disappointing rendition of this play.

  

Though built for the role, Bailey is neither physically intimidating nor psychologically menacing as Lee.  He delivers lines full of malice with nothing but volume behind them, leaving Hoffman little to play off of.  This results in a flat, uninteresting depiction of Austin.  No relationship exists between these characters in this production, and it is this relationship that creates the dynamic tension necessary to sustain the play's drama and support its dark comedy.  

 

The actors' underachievement is symptomatic of an anemic production that sidesteps "True West's" many complexities.  

 

For instance, the playwright occasionally employs heightened poetic language when alluding to the old West.  Rather than relying on the actors' virtuosity to make the point, their brief monologues are bathed in dramatic lighting, underscored with spaghetti western music, and turned into odd cinematic renderings that call more attention to the method than the message.  

 

Rather than find and facilitate the play's dark comedy, con-con goes for the easy laugh, resulting in funny moments void of their intended poignancy.  

 

Inattention to detail is everywhere, from director Simon's generic set design to consistently missed light cues to the exposure of actor Bailey's Freemason tattoo that undermines his character's pathology and history. 

 

This production also lacks the play's trademark intensity.  Violent and vicious confrontations between the brothers-the stuff of legend in the Steppenwolf Theatre production and requiring a splash zone in many others-are understated and unconvincing here.  The suburban kitchen, which is supposed to be in ruins by the end of the play, is merely an untidy mess.  

 

Although the brothers dominate this production, several minor characters make their way onto the stage.  Robert Hawkes as Hollywood producer Saul Kimmer and Lucy Bredeson-Smith as the Mom play their small roles with just the right amount of realism and tension.

 

They remind us of the many missed opportunities that occur in their absence. 

 

"True West" continues through December 15 at the Liminis Theatre in historic Tremont.  For tickets, which range from $10 to $15, call 216-687-0074 or visit www.convergence-continuum.org.
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