This Is Our Youth Review
The review is in today's Scene Magazine in the Gainesville Sun.
Article published Nov 9, 2006
Nov 9, 2006
Misbegotten 'Youth' at the Acrosstown
By DICK MAXWELL
Sun theater critic
"This if Our Youth"
WHEN: Through Nov. 18. Performances: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.
WHERE: Acrosstown Repertory Theater
TICKETS: $7 students, $9 general, available at Omni Books and Books Gallery West.
'This is Our Youth" opened at the Acrosstown Repertory Theater last Thursday. As the audience enters the auditorium the play is already in progress. Cyrus Banisi (as the character Dennis Ziegler) is stretched out on the sofa of his squalid apartment reading a magazine. This tableau continues until the action of the play begins and is an excellent setting for the piece as a symbol of how vapid and confused the characters lives are.
The cast consists of three young adults: Dennis, who occupies the dump of an apartment, and his friend Warren are two of them; the third is Jessica. Warren has been kicked out by his old man and arrives at Dennis's pad bearing a wad of cash purloined from Pop and two suitcases containing valuable old toys and other articles.
After the men horse around for a while, Dennis cooks up a plan for some fun that involves his girlfriend and Jessica, a girl Warren fancies but has never dated. The play ends an act-and-a-half later with Dennis and Warren sharing a joint and staring into space.
This trio of actors make a sincere effort to deal with the turmoil of the characters they are tasked to develop. Dennis is a manipulative individual who fancies himself an accomplished entrepreneur, capable of charming everyone with his good looks and brilliant repartee; underneath the smooth exterior he is very much at sea about the direction of his life. He is tightly wired and explodes when frustrated. Banisi has the dark, brooding mien befitting Dennis.
Warren is the object of Dennis's contempt and abuse. He is played by Eric Turan, a tall-drink-of-water who has a convincing puppy-dog way of cringing when attacked but always coming back for more. It seems that Warren has the most to lose. He has even less direction in his life than Dennis. Turan is able to convey the confusion and distress Warren must feel. He becomes much more animated when interacting with Jessica. In fact, he becomes absolutely verbose, expressing opinions that show he has a mind, albeit an undeveloped one.
Jessica is the only one of the three who seems to have some semblance of togetherness in her life. She attends Fashion Institute of Technology. The actress who portrays her, Katie McLaughlin, is also the costumer for the play and has retro-fitted herself with the '80s look. It's not clear why Jessica takes to Warren so readily. He doesn't agree with any of her opinions. There is a moment, however, when Jessica reaches down and gently adjusts Warren's collar. McLaughlin plays this beautifully.
Kara Winslow is the director. This is not an easy job because there are only three people to carry all the action and handle the wide range of emotions and circumstances that face their characters. Winslow has met these challenges to a large extent, although I felt the pacing could have been a bit sharper.
"This is Our Youth" was written by Kenneth Lonergan who enjoyed a commercial success with the movie "You Can Count On Me" which he wrote and also directed. Lonergan's forte is supposed to be dialogue. In this play we are given a great deal of realistic dialogue, much of it crude, as well as exhibitions of drug use and some fairly intense petting, the point being to present an unadorned picture of the aimless lives of three young adults. The strength of the show lies in the talented cast's success in creating this picture and making it interesting.
The Sun's Page with review
Article published Nov 9, 2006
Nov 9, 2006
Misbegotten 'Youth' at the Acrosstown
By DICK MAXWELL
Sun theater critic
"This if Our Youth"
WHEN: Through Nov. 18. Performances: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.
WHERE: Acrosstown Repertory Theater
TICKETS: $7 students, $9 general, available at Omni Books and Books Gallery West.
'This is Our Youth" opened at the Acrosstown Repertory Theater last Thursday. As the audience enters the auditorium the play is already in progress. Cyrus Banisi (as the character Dennis Ziegler) is stretched out on the sofa of his squalid apartment reading a magazine. This tableau continues until the action of the play begins and is an excellent setting for the piece as a symbol of how vapid and confused the characters lives are.
The cast consists of three young adults: Dennis, who occupies the dump of an apartment, and his friend Warren are two of them; the third is Jessica. Warren has been kicked out by his old man and arrives at Dennis's pad bearing a wad of cash purloined from Pop and two suitcases containing valuable old toys and other articles.
After the men horse around for a while, Dennis cooks up a plan for some fun that involves his girlfriend and Jessica, a girl Warren fancies but has never dated. The play ends an act-and-a-half later with Dennis and Warren sharing a joint and staring into space.
This trio of actors make a sincere effort to deal with the turmoil of the characters they are tasked to develop. Dennis is a manipulative individual who fancies himself an accomplished entrepreneur, capable of charming everyone with his good looks and brilliant repartee; underneath the smooth exterior he is very much at sea about the direction of his life. He is tightly wired and explodes when frustrated. Banisi has the dark, brooding mien befitting Dennis.
Warren is the object of Dennis's contempt and abuse. He is played by Eric Turan, a tall-drink-of-water who has a convincing puppy-dog way of cringing when attacked but always coming back for more. It seems that Warren has the most to lose. He has even less direction in his life than Dennis. Turan is able to convey the confusion and distress Warren must feel. He becomes much more animated when interacting with Jessica. In fact, he becomes absolutely verbose, expressing opinions that show he has a mind, albeit an undeveloped one.
Jessica is the only one of the three who seems to have some semblance of togetherness in her life. She attends Fashion Institute of Technology. The actress who portrays her, Katie McLaughlin, is also the costumer for the play and has retro-fitted herself with the '80s look. It's not clear why Jessica takes to Warren so readily. He doesn't agree with any of her opinions. There is a moment, however, when Jessica reaches down and gently adjusts Warren's collar. McLaughlin plays this beautifully.
Kara Winslow is the director. This is not an easy job because there are only three people to carry all the action and handle the wide range of emotions and circumstances that face their characters. Winslow has met these challenges to a large extent, although I felt the pacing could have been a bit sharper.
"This is Our Youth" was written by Kenneth Lonergan who enjoyed a commercial success with the movie "You Can Count On Me" which he wrote and also directed. Lonergan's forte is supposed to be dialogue. In this play we are given a great deal of realistic dialogue, much of it crude, as well as exhibitions of drug use and some fairly intense petting, the point being to present an unadorned picture of the aimless lives of three young adults. The strength of the show lies in the talented cast's success in creating this picture and making it interesting.
The Sun's Page with review