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Closer by Backyard Productions 
To lie or not to lie. That is the question Patrick
Marber’s Closer asks, but the answer is not always quite so clear-cut
as one would expect. Marber challenges the notion that honesty and complete
openness is always the best thing for a relationship, doing so with dark humor,
poignancy, and brutal upfrontness in what would definitely be one of the most
uncomfortable chapters in the Book of Love. Of course, telling the truth might
not be so bad if they just stopped cheating on each other!Backyard Productions brings this Tony-nominated play to San Diego for its local premiere at the intimate 6th @ Penn Theatre. The story revolves around two men and two women in London whose lives become intertwined in a round-robin game of love foursquare. Grass-is-always-greener mentality and strategic seductions result in loves gained, loves lost, loves re-gained, and loves lost again. All of the characters have major flaws and a thread of pragmatic cynicism running through them that keeps undermining their desperate search for love. Their only idealistic thread is that they hold to the firm belief that through complete honesty they can find everlasting love. But the truth keeps setting them free in a way they hadn't envisioned. Not completely unexpected with all they keep doing to ruin their relationships -- including lots of infidelity. Though definitely not the nicest or most loyal people in the world, the script and the brilliant acting compel you to care about them anyway and feel for the loneliness they create for themselves. Lauren Zimmerman is Anna, a photographer whose pursuit of love and penchant for making bad choices for what seems like the right reasons keep dooming her. Tony Gorodeckas is the smooth and confident Dan who prefers love that's a challenge rather than the unconditional love given easily, and could end up with neither. And Backyard Productions regular Daren Scott plays Larry, the character who seems to become a completely different character by the end as betrayal prompts his conversion from pleasantly naïve to coldly vindictive. The most intriguing character of the four is Alice (Jessica John), a stripper in her early twenties who has a dangerous habit of getting hit by cars. It’s actually a close encounter with a taxi that lands her in Dan’s lap and gets the show kick-started thanks to her bloodied leg. Alice seems the most honest, open, and sincere in her love, but she is also the one who prefers a nice fantasy to the often-ugly truth, and could have lived quite contentedly in ignorant bliss if the others had just let her. The three others, all thirtysomethings, disregard Alice as a silly youth unwise in the ways of mature relationships, and then keep wondering why their own lives are so screwed up. Though the twists in the plot seem a bit hard to believe, the script deftly explores some unique ground and includes enough doses of hilarious humor to help make that exploration very entertaining. Director Ruff Yeager’s four-member ensemble all deliver fantastic performances as they ride the roller coaster of love from the exciting and optimistic beginnings through the later stages of familiarity bordering on boredom, with lots of jealousy, betrayal, and heartache (not to mention one lap dance) mixed in along the way – unfortunately some all-too-common maladies when people dare to get closer. Whether or not secrets and lies are ever the best remedy to these maladies is the thorny question this play poses.Started by Jessica John and Lauren Zimmerman four years ago, this small but talented theatre company has a great eye for scripts and has the core performers (including the two of them) to ensure continued high-quality shows. If only they had time for more than one or two a year!
Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
Dan: Tony Gorodeckas Alice: Jessica John Larry: Daren Scott Anna: Lauren Zimmerman Director: Ruff Yeager Lighting Design: Ginger Harris Stage Design: Ruff Yeager Stage Manager: Josh Roper Music: Ruff Yeager |