An issue with most theatre in this town is that it doesn’t dare to try anything new, it doesn’t offend, and certainly doesn’t stretch the minds of its audience or performers. Most plays and musicals and plays are fluff, which is respectable in its own right. It is pure entertainment and doesn’t mean anything. Directors often try to solve this problem by simply choosing tougher scripts, scripts that are edgy. But more often than not they are not directed correctly. This is not one of those cases.
Beirut is an intense script masterfully handled by director Bill Voorhees. It is performing at the Three Penny Theater at the California Stage Complex, one of the smallest in town, but it suits this piece so well. This show is raw and emotional and shows people at their worst.
David Campfield carefully plays main protagonist Torch. Campfield has been in many productions in the region, most notably Fool For Love at Capitol Stage. Jessica Neufeld who was previously brilliant in Keely & Du at ARC and also done a lot in the community. The combination of the two is explosive and correct. Their chemistry is intriguing and sexual. You have never seen live sexual tension like you will in this play. And while watching two beautiful people mostly naked (and sometimes fully) in the throes of passion is reason enough to see this play, it is just the cherry on top.
The setting is set in the “future”, in a world where we quarantine those who have tested positive from sexual disease, the problem has become so bad, sex has been outlawed. Okay, so the premise is a little out there, but they play it absolutely correctly and real. And in doing that, they say more about the topics of sex, HIV, AIDS, government, relationships, and love that has been seen in years in this city. The end of the play is painful, troubling, and leaves with a bad taste in your mouth that begs you not to applaud these horrible acts.
Now this wouldn’t be Pan A Play if I didn’t have some sour notes. If you can ding the actors on anything, it is dialects. Both accents from New York fade in and out as emotions do. The comedy of the piece doesn’t ring as loud as might be expected, and even if something is funny you feel a bit odd laughing in such an intense small space.
Overall the performances are excellent, the chemistry and tension is perfect, and you will never be bored. This is the type of theatre we need to support. This is definitely an 18 and older show though. Don’t bring the kiddies.
So – what happened to these fine PAN-able shows:
“Sorry to be brief, we have a long summer of a lot of theatre to see.
Shakespeare festival, Othello and Midsummer
Curtains at Runaway
Pirates of Penzance at CTW
Minnies Boys at Fair Oaks
As You Like it at California Stage
What else do we need to see???”
PaP-Smear needs to get out more. He must be too busy committing atrocious acts of violence upon his genitalia while reading his own words to get out to see the hottest shows in Sacramento before they close[I truly hope his review is pending for As You Like It, as it was one of the rare productions which makes Sacramento summers worthwhile]. Or did no one volunteer to succeed the far more prolific and humorous [even when he wasn't actually there] frankkander?
Yes, my theatrical friends, that’s what Pan-A-Play is without frankkander: a month of silence, followed by a review which is so painfully unfunny it should guest star on ‘Two and a Half Men’. PaP-Smear says: “Now this wouldn’t be Pan A Play if I didn’t have some sour notes.” It also wouldn’t be Pan A Play if PaP-Smear didn’t write soporific (that’s educated-speak for “boring as fucking a tube of anaesthetic”) stories with 3 sentences about the direction, 2 sentences on the male lead, 1 sentence on the female lead, and then fully 3 on watching people have sex on stage. Followed immediately by a paragraph on the “setting”, the end of which reads like it was lifted practically word for word from a bad erotic novel.
Can’t wait for next month’s review of West Sacramento Community Theatre’s production of Merry Wives of Windsor!
Yeah, maybe not the best review writing-wise (fragmented sentences and the like), but not as bad as you make it out to be. Nope, not as good as what frankkander would write, but he’s not here anymore, so get over it. And with the blog in recent transition, you shouldn’t expect too many reviews coming up, sheesh.
With that said, I also saw ‘Beirut’, and agree with drewonhanover’s assessment. Dave and Jessicah were both fantastic in it, and so was the actor (Sean, can’t remember his last name) who gave a powerful, creepy cameo as the guard. Also excellent direction, set, lighting. I also agree with the ding on their dialects, it was the only criticism I could find. I also think the ending can’t be easily defined in one way, as you seem to put it. I think the playwright purposely wrote it to be interpreted by the viewer as to whether it’s a bad or good thing.
I definitely recommend this show. If you’re skittish about nudity, watch where you sit, heh.
*On a different note – I hope panaplay can make it out to the Kennedy Mine Ampitheatre in Jackson, CA, to review our production of ‘The Servant of Two Masters’, running Aug. 6 – Sept. 4. It’s comedy gold!!
Oh Frank, why have you forsaken me??!!?
Why do people care so much?! The whole point of this web blog is to bash, insult, or even make non-theater related personal attacks against people in local theater while hiding behind the cowardly veil of anonymity. I don’t see how this is helping anyone. It’s just a biased pool of venomous hate here consisting of agendas with no constructive benefit.