Holly (Delia MacDougall) and Nathan (Robert Sicular) meet over lunch to conduct political negotiations in Kenneth Lin’s WARRIOR CLASS, receiving its California Premiere October 9 – November 3 at TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Photos by Tracy Martin
WARRIOR CLASS: Drama by Kenneth Lin. Directed by Leslie Martinson. TheatreWorks, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. (650) 463-1960 or www.theatreworks.org. October 15- November 3, 2013
A bromidic WARRIOR CLASS deftly staged at TheatreWorks
When a play does not create excitement but has laudable qualities it is difficult to write an unfavorable yet fair review. The California premiere of Warrior Class at TheatreWorks on Thursday night created that dilemma. It has an excellent three person cast helmed by Leslie Martinson, an award winning director and is being performed on a superb, clever rotating set by Eric Flatmo. If we accept the adage “the play’s the thing” therein lays the fault. There is nothing original about the plot and the characters are hardly likeable.
Author Kenneth Lin is an Asian-American writer with more than creditable curriculum vitae. His livelihood is apparently earned as a TV writer. Not only is he a staff writer on Netflix’s “House of Cards” but is the creator of a new limited series, “American Way,” for USA Networks. That is probably explains why Warrior Class has the feel of TV potboiler.
All three characters have flaws and Lin deftly inserts exposition disguised as normal dialog to flesh out his characters’ background and motivations. It all revolves around Julius Lee a charismatic Asian-American who has beaten an entrenched Democrat incumbent for seat in New York State’s House of Representative after giving an impassioned speech that turned the election in his direction. Julius (Pun Bandu)has all the credentials to progress up the political ladder. He is an educated, charismatic son of Chinese immigrants as well as being a decorated ex-Marine. He is now ready for a step up to the NY Senate or US House of Representatives. He is labeled “a Republican Obama.” Problem: He has a “incident” in his background that could derail his and the Party,s aspirations.
Nathan Berkshire (Robert Sicular) is the savvy political strategist advisor to Julius and the Party assigned to make the incident “go away.” It is not until the second act that he is given humanistic traits to soften his Machiavellian nature and he prides his profession as being the “warrior class.”
In the opening scene Nathan meets Holly Eames (Delia MacDougall)the former live-in girlfriend with Julius while they were in college. When Holly split from Julius he became enraged, viciously stalking her causing Holly’s mental breakdown leading to their exodus from college. He joined the Marines and she eventually married now living in Baltimore with her husband a discredited financier who needs a job.
It just so happens that there are a few appointee jobs that Julius and the Party control. Holly has come forward with details of the past, intimating that if her husband is given one of those jobs the “red flag” will disappear. That is the set-up for the play that is introduced in the first scene where Nathan has his first “back room” chat at the B & O Steakhouse with Holly.
Julius (Pun Bandhu) and Nathan (Robert Sicular) have
a tense discussion
The remainder of the play shifts between Julius’s home in a posh New York suburb and the B&O Steakhouse. The negotiations take some unexpected nasty turns giving a modicum of tension to the play. Nathan’s “warrior class” takes a verbal beating before the curtain descends. After that happens, Julius pulls out his popcorn machine making a making a bowl of his comfort food that is introduced early in scene two. . . thus an ambiguous ending to the evening. Running time one hour and 40 minutes including the 15 minute intermission.
Kedar K Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
