REVIEW: True West by Sam Shepard at the Balagan. Directed by Shawn Belyea & Tim Hyland. With Mike Dooly and Chris Bell. Now through May 1.
Actors and directors and theatre personnel in general have long had it in for theater critics. No one likes criticism and a bad review can hurt a production and the livelihood of its ensemble so it’s not shocking that there’s some enmity directed towards we chroniclers of criticism and dramatic analysis. Still, I wasn’t prepared for the shocking attempt on my life last Thursday night at the Balagan Theatre during their opening night performance of Sam Shepard’s True West. An enraged out of control actor flung a plateful of toast in the non-specific direction of this noble writer’s head, missing it by inches, before striking a lighting stand and shattering into dozens of pieces! Though shaken, I was not stirred to cry out, and the production continued without further incident. And despite this attempted assassination and futile attempt to silence my noble cursor, I have to say that I enjoyed this production of True West (both before and after the near decapitation) and I can recommend it…but with a few reservations.
Shepard’s True West is largely considered to be his most accessible work which makes it not very surprisingly, his most performed play. What Hamlet and Macbeth were to earlier generations of actors, the roles of the two battling brothers, Lee and Austin in True West are considered hallmarks for contemporary male American actors. Every “serious” actor wants to add these acting notches to his bedpost and it’s not surprising. True West is essentially a two man show, the two roles of equal size and stature and both roles allow plenty of opportunities for muscle stretching for ambitious young actors. One role is all external bravado and violence and misanthropic tics (Lee, the older “bad” brother/thief/conman/nutjob) and the other (Austin, the younger, “good” brother/family man/aspiring screenwriter) is all inhibited, seething rage and frustration that ultimately builds to a climax of drunkenness, high comedy, dramatic conflict and intense emotional and physical violence. Every actor relishes the chance to play all these different colors of the dramatic spectrum and in True West, they get to do so in under two hours…with the added benefit of freshly made toast and the opportunity to trash a set and potentially kill an audience member or two. What’s not to love?
In the first act, we quickly discover that bad boy Lee has dropped in on brother Austin who is house sitting for their elderly mother who is off on an Alaskan cruise. Austin is a married family man but they’re back home, “up north” while Austin’s in Southern California working on a script for a Hollywood movie producer. Austin isn’t particularly happy to see his hoody mess of a brother but masks his annoyance and fear with a bland, calming complacency and patient demeanor; it’s a role he’s often played within his troubled family. Lee, on the other hand, is on the prowl, intent on robbing all the households in his mother’s neighborhood but is suddenly distracted by his brother’s work on a screenplay. Because like every good Southern Californian, Lee has a great idea for a screenplay and maybe he and Austin could work on it…? Austin isn’t enamored with the idea of collaborating with his brother and is even less impressed with the plot for his movie (which now sort of sounds like a quirky, Coen Brothers type of movie…). Unfortunately, Austin’s producer Saul Kimmer stops by, is charmed by Lee and over a friendly game of golf, professes to loving Lee’s movie idea and agrees to pay the brothers $300,000 to write the first draft. Austin is horrified that Saul likes Lee’s script idea better than the project that Austin has been working on for months and has no interest or desire to work on anything with the brother he fears and loathes. Lee manages to cajole and bully Austin into the collaboration but as the brothers begin to work together for the first time in their lives, each begins to take on aspects of the others character. Lee is delighted to discover that he can be brainy and artistic and responsible and successful like his brother and Austin begins to shake off his inhibitions and channel the rage and frustration and criminal behaviours of Lee. Both revel in their new found roles and both are ultimately frustrated by the constraints of the others personality. Eventually, it leads to writer’s block for Lee (and the savage destruction of the typewriter) and petty toaster thievery for Austin and the ultimate violent confrontation between the brothers that concludes the play. It’s a short (with intermission the play runs under two hours) intense finely tuned work from a playwright at the top of his form. It’s worthy to be in the canon of Great American Plays.
True West is a powerful, meaty play with strong comedic moments and it’s not a walk in the park for theater companies to produce. Balancing the violence, the drama, and the humor is tough and the two main roles have to be cast with strong actors. Balagan largely succeeds with their production but the opening I saw on Thursday still seemed to be in the throes of labor; it was a production not quite ready for opening night. The first act seemed to be off; the timing in the opening scenes wasn’t quite where it needed to be. Mike Dooly seemed to have a firm grasp of Lee; his performance seemed assured and confident for the most part. He has the advantage that Lee is all ego; his character is easier to identify and easier to play than the button down Austin. Lee is all mouth and bravado and implied violence; Mr Dooly has the burly confidence to meet the role head on and he seemed to be having a lot of fun playing it; he knew exactly who this guy was and how to play him. But I was less convinced by Chris Bell’s Austin; I wasn’t understanding his interpretation of the role and found myself disagreeing with choices being made by the actor (and the direction of the actor in allowing these choices). Mr Bell seemed to have obvious talent but I wasn’t feeling he was an adequate match for Mr Dooly. Dooly seemed to have the stronger talent and the stronger grasp of his character while Bell did not; it was disheartening and I feared the play would be off-kilter as a result. That, combined with the awkwardness of the opening scenes had me worried, which wasn’t helped much by the arrival of Saul Kimmer played by the co-director of the play, Shawn Belyea. Mr Belyea was fine, but didn’t seem invested in the play and appeared tentative in his scene. I understand part of that is in the writing, but it seemed a bit unformed. The first act of the play, which oddly is the shorter of the two acts (first acts tend to be longer in the theatre) left me feeling a bit concerned and unsettled. There had been strong moments and the play was never boring for me, but it didn’t seem like it had jelled; it wasn’t operating on all cylinders and living up to its potential. It very much felt like they might have miscast Mr Bell as Austin and there was a slight feeling the play could have used another week of rehearsal to tighten up the play and fine tune the performances and timing. I was a little disappointed as I went outside at intermission for a breath of American Spirited fresh air.
I returned to my seat after intermission a little half-heartedly; as stated, I wasn’t bored and I was interested to see how the rest of the show went, but I had to admit I had given up on this being a “must see” production. And then, the lights came up and the second act began, and: It…Was…A…Whole…New…Show! The timing was perfect; both of the actors were sharp and in tune with each other and the show just crackled with intensity and energy. And, yes, some of that is in the writing of the play; the emotions and timing are obviously going to be different, but it was more than that. The actors were working as a unit and very successfully playing off each other. Mr Dooly, who had been very good in the first act, was now at the top of his game. And Mr Bell was just a different actor in the second act; very, very confident and exquisitely playing the small nuances of the character. His performance of a long monologue detailing a visit with his n’er do well father and the night he lost his teeth was a small comedic masterpiece and proved that Mr Bell is a fine actor and an excellent match for Mr Dooley. And, Shawn Belyea’s performance as Saul was also much improved in Act II; more relaxed and in tune with the other actors. I’m not sure if Mr Belyea gave himself and the other actors a pep talk at intermission, or if it was just the case of getting over opening night jitters, but something happened and it worked to the performance’s benefit. The first act was, at best, a “C-” experience; the second was a very sold “A”.
AND, it’s the intensity and emotion of the second act that lead to the Incident (my attempted murder and martyrdom) described above. By the end of the play, Austin has been emboldened by booze to stand up to Lee and Lee is frustrated by this new side of his brother as well as his own inadequacies as a writer and as a member of his family and society. It all reaches a climax with a physical confrontation between the two and Lee slapping a plate of toast out of Austin’s hand. But Mike Dooley was a little caught up in the intensity of his performance and misjudged his strength and the relative small space of the Balagan Theatre (and the directors should have staged this so the plate would be flipped BACK towards the wall of the set and not OUT towards the audience); the plate went SPINNING out into the audience, barely missing my head and crashing into a light stand. Everyone was stunned for a moment, but the play went on and concluded on an emotionally charged and dramatic high note. The considerable strengths of Act II had compensated for the weakness of Act I. And, the very sweet Mr Dooley made a point during curtain call to worriedly ask the audience “Is everyone ok? I’m so sorry!” Yes, we are ok, and thank you for your concern…I didn’t take it personally, though I would have preferred the toast to the plate. The smell of fresh toast ALWAYS makes you hungry for a slice…
I liked this production and I’m glad I went (I got a great story out of it: “The Time I Almost Died At The Theatre!”) and I can recommend it to theatre loving fans but it was a bit rough and I think maybe Balagan might have bitten off a bit more than they can chew this year with its TEN play season. That is a very strenous and difficult feat to pull off for more experienced and wealthier theatre companies; I think it’s put a bit of a strain on their resources. I know they probably have an expensive rent to pay every month and running productions do bring in cash while dark theaters do not, but I think it might be wiser for them to go with FEWER, but longer running productions next season or try and rent their space out in their dark months to companies that do not have a resident theater. That way they could spend a bit more time on each production for rehersals and to work on better lighting and more completely realized sets; I was bit underwhelmed by the set for True West and it didn’t seem to be a question of money but rather time. The basic set design was fine but overall the set seemed unfinished; the curtain over the sink was rather crudely tacked up; the walls could have used a few more pictures and decor items; the coffee pot was plugged into a visible strip outlet and the refrigerator didn’t light up…all small things but distracting and with a little more time, they could have been easily corrected and at a minor cost and a visit to Value Village or raiding someone’s Grandma’s house for a few knick-knacks. My advice for next season: no more than 6 or 7 shows!
True West plays Thur-Sat at 8pm; Sun at 7pm now through May 1 at the Balagan Theatre, 1117 E Pike, under Boom Noodle. Tickets available at BrownPaper Tickets, $12 to $15. Photo Credit: Andrea Huysing
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
