Mouth to Mouth

Kevin Elyot's new work at The Acorn Theatre is jam packed with raw emotion and intentionally unanswered questions.  The play opens up at the end.  South London suburb.  Present.  Frank and Laura (David Cale and Lisa Emery) in a very one sided melancholy scene.  Frank clearly wants to tell Laura something. Laura is clearly upset by something.  Rewind.   Frank and his doctor, Gompertz (Andrew Polk) discuss Frank's unspoken illness and his desire to reveal a secret.  Comic relief indeed.  Rewind.  Frank, Laura, Roger (Darren Goldstein) , Cornelia (Elizabeth Jasicki) and Philip (Christopher Abbott) and Dennis (Richard Topol) - a family affair of sorts, an uncomfortable dinner party, and  a "shocking" revelation by Philip, the 15 year old son recently returned from Spain abruptly end the dinner plans.  Continuing forward - we learn of yet another shocking secret between Philip and Frank.  Fast Forward back to the opening scene. Can Frank bring himself to tell Laura what he wanted to say?  Is what he wants to say going to being solace to Laura in any way?  Is he somehow at fault?

If this was at all confusing - I don't mean it to be.  It should be very clear to even the most inattentive theatergoer what's going on.   The unspoken.  Secrets.  Untold facts.  Who is really talking to whom in life?  Do we see what is going on or do we just see what we want?   Clearly  Kevin Elyot has a firm opinion on this.   Mouth to Mouth is both a figurative title (whether my mouth or yours, words sometimes flow and sometimes don't - and we often don't want to listen to what we hear) as well

 as a physical meaning in this plot - It seems that (among other frolicking that followed) Frank saved Philip from drowning at the lake by giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation.  

Outstanding performances by Lisa Emery (Laura) and David Cale (Frank).  The sheer innocence of Christopher Abbott (Philip) is priceless, genuine, and brilliantly captured by Director, Mark Browkaw.  Brilliant subtleties, such as a Philip emerging in his first scene shirtless tantalizes the audience and offers up the question of his sexuality.  Laura scolds her son for smoking in a photograph.   And yet the opening and closing scene we find her indulging.  Never spoken.  Did we hear a passing comment about when Laura and Roger met so long ago?  It rings in our ears in the penultimate scene between them again.

Bravo, New Group.   A fine evening of theatre, indeed.

Good Boys And True

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa penned a gem and 2econd Stage Theater with Scott Ellis at the directorial helm pulled this one off big time. Some have called this the American version of The History Boys. It certainly has the necessary ingredients: Religion, High School, Power, Wealth, Tradition, Family, and, of course, Scandal.

Set in the late 1980's - the decade of the birth of the power brokers and privileged - how far will Brandon go to keep his secret quiet? To what ends will he go to prove he's not gay? His mother and father are both the product of private schools, ivy league educated doctors. Their son, Brandon, a legacy at St Joseph's Prep, popular jock and captain of the football team seems to have it all and knows it. How far will he go in manipulating his parents, his teachers and his friends? Will he admit the truth? The whole truth?
 
And what about his mother? Has she actually forgotten the past? Has her drive for wealth and prestige affected the way she raises her son? Has it transformed her memory of what those younger years were like? Caused her to selectively forget certain things? Does she believe her son? Could it be him on the video tape? Why would he do this?
Perhaps today, we might question the extent of the angst, the deception. Sure, kids get into all sorts of things. Would we even be shocked by this tape today? Probably not. Sad, but true. But remember the time - the 1980's . In many ways, an entirely different outlook.
  
Brian J. Smith (Come Back Little Sheba) takes the helm as the seemingly perfect son, Brandon (he's 2 for 2 with the shirt off thing and I'm not complaining one bit.) and J. Smith-Cameron plays Mom. She needs to stop correcting herself when she stumbles over a line and just relax. The most relaxed moments were her most powerful and most emotional. An entire performance like that would seem a bit less like a reading and more like a Tony Award winning performance. And let's not forget a stand out performance by Christopher Abbott as Justin. I felt his pain, his struggle, and the emotional struggle he had over Brandon. I'm really hope to see more of him on stage.

The play was not perfect (just yet). That's what previews are for. There is a vague feeling of a Lifetime Movie, but it's written better, performed better, and developed much better than one of those. Stroll over to West 43rd and catch a performance of a play that may have a shot at a Broadway run.