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THEATRE
THEATRESCENE CUAUHTÉMOC KISH
ill Camp, who plays the “Man” in Fyodor Dos- toevsky’s “Notes From Un-
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derground,” offers the audience nothing less than a tour de force performance. His actor sidekicks, Merritt Janson (Liza/Musician) and Michael Attias (Apollon/ Musician) offer solid acting and technical support throughout this provocatively intense, intermis- sion-less production of nearly two hours.
When Camp tells the audi- ence he is sick, wicked and unat- tractive during his initial ranting and ravings, the audience might believe he is overreacting, trying too hard to draw us in, or perhaps even soliciting our empathy. However, by the end of the play, you realize that nothing has been exaggerated; that indeed he is sick, wicked and appallingly unat- tractive—in both word and deed. “Notes From Underground” pulls the Man’s dialog from Dostoevsky’s existentialist novel of the same name. Directed and adapted by Robert Woodruff (Camp shares adaption credits), the play seems to suggest, more than anything else, that the individual cannot rely on external influences to fill the void of a life without purpose and mean-
ing. The play asks that you face your own truth, while he, the Man, faces his truth in extreme seclusion, his unique path to self- discovery. As you might imagine, the play’s anti-hero faces many of his demons with brute force and absurdist humor. Woodruff has challenged his principal actor, and Camp has met that challenge. He projects a troubled mind taking form with many mutations: glar- ing at the audience with a disqui- eting smile, gesturing erratically, dancing on tiptoe, humiliating with intent, and gurgling a stream of conversation that is both never- ending and contradictory. Michael Attias’ sound design is a musical mix and match that punctuates the text as well as the dialog, at times, with loud, irritable underscoring. David Zinn’s scenic design places his actors in a Siberian landscape of snow and office clutter. Peter Nigrini’s projec- tion design expands the set, populating scenes with intense color, enlarged focus, and even unnamed, headless individuals. There is also a room on the back of the set that allows for momen- tary exit and re-entry. A large window allows the audience to peer into this room and become a willing voyeur to what’s happen- ing inside.
It’s not a comfortable perfor-
mance to watch: The audience is sometimes lit with the glare of white light, pummeled with overly loud sound bites, and
October 8-October 21, 2010 GAY SAN DIEGO
Audience psyche takes a beating on riveting ride to enlightenment NOTES FROM
UNDERGROUND Through Oct. 17 La Jolla Playhouse, Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre,
2910 La Jolla Village Drive
lajollaplayhouse.org (858) 550-1010 Tuesdays & Wednesday,s 7:30 p.m. Thursdays & Fridays, 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 & 8 p.m. Sundays, 2 & 7 p.m.
blasted with intense, rich visuals. The technical onslaught is rivet- ing, and underscores the brusque dialog that holds nothing back. One scene, for example, can
only be painted as ugly, as the Man brutalizes a kindly prosti- tute, destroying her very heart and soul, while we helplessly watch from our audience perch. It’s mesmerizingly painful. If you like theatrical challeng- es, and you are ready to face a dia- tribe of existential thoughts and feelings, you’ll step up and openly embrace this production. But you may leave the theatre battered, challenged, and enlightened.
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(top) Merritt Janson and Bill Camp in La Jolla Playhouse’s production of Dostoevsky’s “Notes from Underground”; (below) Merritt Janson and Bill Camp (Photos courtesy Joan Marcus)
Playwright’s first stab a flawed, yet entertaining production WELCOME TO
have enough to say, while some of the conversations seemed too abstract, segueing into the meta- physical. In the end, the story seems compartmentalized and incomplete.
(l to r) Byron Bronson as Officer Derek, GQ as Nelson Cardenal, Wade Allain-Marcus as Trip Goldstein, Andres Munar as Alejandro Arroyo, Tala Ashe as Lelly Santiago and Amirah Vann as Amalia Arroyo in The Old Globe’s production of “Welcome to Arroyo’s.” (Courtesy Henry DiRocco)
By Cuauhtémoc Kish|Theatre critic
ven though Latino playwright Kristopher Diaz was nomi- nated for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “The Elabo- rate Entrance of Chad Deity,” he says he just can’t walk away from his first full-length work titled “Welcome to Arroyo’s,” currently playing at the Old Globe’s White Theatre. As Diaz said in a recent interview, “There’s something about your first play; you never want to let it go.” “Welcome to Arroyo’s” is an urban comedy Diaz penned in college about 10 years ago. If I were his professor, I might have indicated that the play is self-indulgent, lacks pace and me- anders all over the lower east side landscape. It also includes three sub-plots that hijack the poorly supported main plot from moving
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forward. But, I would also add that the script is entertaining, has good energy, and is a very fine first effort. Brother and sister Alejandro
(Andres Munar) and Amalia (Amirah Vann) Arroyo have recently lost their mother. After her death, Alejandro has worked night and day to transform mom’s bodega into a bar (sorry, lounge), while Amalia remains steadfastly focused on (obsessed with) her graffiti art. Lelly (Tala Ashe) enters their lives with a mysteri- ous visit, in an attempt to identify Reina Rey, the only female to be tagged as a possible hip-hop founder from South Bronx, who may be Alejandro and Amalia’s mother. Unfortunately, Lelly spends most of her time talking to the audience. Many of the conversations
are far too brief, as if Diaz didn’t
The six-actor cast—which does consistently fine work—in- cludes a pair of energized “DJ” hip-hoppers (Trip/Wade Allain- Marcus and Nelson/GQ) who bounce around the stage, adding commentary and one-liners, like a mildly strung-out Greek cho- rus. They do a meet-and-greet with the audience, and con- tinue the audience interaction throughout the intermission-less production. The play is overly peppered with f-words, not only from the rapper chorus, but also from Amalia, who has no fear when it comes to getting into someone’s face.
Competing the cast is a dutiful cop named Officer Derek (Byron Bronson) who is nothing more than a foil for a running gag that gets very old, very fast. Director Jaime Castaneda
kept everything lighthearted, especially the hilarious “re- wind” segments, and interaction with Amalia and the cop. He also took advantage of Aaron Rhyne’s very effective video projections that circled Takeshi Kata’s compact stage design and extended the set. “Welcome to Arroyo’s” is funkily entertaining. This first effort by Diaz might benefit from yet another remix, though it also may be time to let this one go, and move on to newer projects like “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.”
ARROYO’S Through Oct. 31 The Old Globe’s White Theatre
theoldglobe.org (619) 234-5623 Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m. Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m.
(l to r) GQ as Nelson Cardenal and Wade Allain-Marcus as Trip Goldstein in The Old Globe’s pro- duction of “Welcome to Arroyo’s.” (Courtesy Henry DiRocco)
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