THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502090072
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, THEATER CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
GOOD OL' BOYS gather in the alley behind Angel's Bar while the wives gather for a spot of laundry and bourbon, fitfully describing themselves as ``back porch Baptists.'' Such is life in Maynard, Texas - a dusty town where folks apparently don't have much to do, other than get dusty.
James McClure's two one-act plays ``Lonestar'' and ``Laundry and Bourbon'' were long-run off-Broadway hits and were once set to be adapted into a movie version. Just ask Sigourney Weaver about that. With Mel Gibson and Harvey Keitel almost set to be her co-stars, she was ready to begin on-location filming when the deal fell through (money troubles). She still hasn't given up on a movie adaptation.
In the meantime, the two plays are very much available at the Actors' Theater, currently making its home in the too-often-dark auditorium of the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts. These are dark comedies about folks who dream about other places and other goals.
One is about the guys and the other about the gals, but the mixture is uneven. By far the better of the two is ``Lonestar,'' in which three local denizens remember the Vietnam War, a 1959 pink Thunderbird and some minor happenings. Jim Turner has the showy role here as Roy, a thigh-slapping rounder who claims that Vietnam made him mean. He still has the pink Thunderbird, with the back seat that has become legendary. He still likes to berate and belittle his dim-witted brother, Ray.
It is Greg Silva's deadpan, ``gosh, gee, duh'' delivery of the woebegone Ray who steals the evening. Ray is one of those guys who doesn't quite get it. He looks up to his brother, even though the rest of us know that the guy is mainly bluster. It is Silva's low-key use of silence and befuddlement that gets a large percentage of the evening's laughter. He is the only character who could even remotely be regarded as being underplayed.
The play marks the return of one of the area's more familiar actors, Jay Lockamy (remembered for ``Equus'' and ``Richard III''). Unfortunately, he is a bit over the top here as Cletis, the nerdish husband. Lockamy tries to make too much of the part.
In contrast, there is much too obviously a try for laughs coming from almost everyone else. These two plays are meant, we can only assume, to have a sad, lost poignancy - people trapped in a nothingness they don't even perceive. This is largely played down in favor of trying to turn them into outright, knockabout comedy, the kind that local producers feel is the only way to sell tickets. Local audiences have grown far beyond just that.
It is also too bad that we have to keep getting curtain speeches to apologize for the ``language'' in the play. The producers admit that they have cut out ``offending material.'' Actor's Theater should not have to be concerned about such matters. Its audience should support good theater that is also realistic.
``Laundry and Bourbon,'' the opener, doesn't fare nearly as well with the feminine side of life in Maynard. Its slow pacing and emphasis on broad comedy make it difficult to believe that it was directed by the same director (Ford Heath Jr.) as ``Lonestar.'' What is meant to be a slice of life turns out to be a slice of ham.
Karen Levy is made to pose in Daisy Mae-style shorts long before the play even begins. She's moaning about the fact that her husband Roy is missing (this is the same Roy we later discover in ``Lone-star''). Denise Crisp, as a lively one called Hattie, seems to think she's doing an episode of ``I Love Lucy.'' Traci Gardner, on the other hand, is very nearly on target in suggesting a snooty country club type.
Maynard, Texas, is well worth a visit, but you wouldn't want to live there. ILLUSTRATION: THEATER REVIEW
What: ``Lonestar'' and ``Laundry and Bourbon,'' two one-act plays
by James McClure, produced by The Actors' Theater
Where: Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, 2200 Parks Ave.
When: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5 to $15
Call: 557-0397
by CNB