Emmy-nominated actor Mark Margolis (Gus) heads up the Marcantonio clan in the West Coast premiere of Tony Kushner’s The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, an epic family drama at Berkeley Rep. Photo courtesy of kevin berne.com
The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures: Drama by Tony Kushner. Directed by Tony Taccone.Berkeley Repertory Theatre,Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org May 16-June 29,2014
West Coast premiere. [rating:3] (3 of 5 stars)
The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures is a stunning ‘kitchen-sink’ drama.
In a recent interview of Tony Kushner by Chad Jones for the SF Chronicle, Kushner suggested that this play is his attempt to write a “well-made kitchen-sink drama.” The term ‘kitchen-sink’ owes its derivation to a 1957 3-act play entitled The Kitchen that played in the Royal Court Theatre in London written by the noted Arnold Wesker. During the 50s and 60s London playwright’s, termed the angry young men,wrote plays about everyday working class characters. This included John Osborne who wrote Look Back in Anger (1956).
Wesker’s play is about the disintegration of a Communist Jewish family whose ideals are shattered as the world around them is radically changing. In that play the matriarch is the one with the strong Socialist convictions while the patriarch vacillates. Their son and daughter are mirror images of the parents.
It seems apparent that Tony Kushner has been influenced by The Kitchen. Even so, he is a unique writer with a plethora of theatrical awards including Pulitzer Prize and the seminal Tony Award winning Angels in America. The kitchen-sink influence extends to the play’s construction written in three acts with act one setting the premise(s), act two leading to a climactic confrontation and a third act denouement. The comparisons end there as five of Kushner’s characters are homosexuals. If is intended as an extension/update of his seminal Angels in America it is redundant and deficient. Never-the-less, even though it is pretentious to run for three hours and 45 minutes, he has created a unique powerful drama that is being given a stunning performance under Tony Taccone’s tight direction.
In Kushner’s play the family is Italian Catholic and the widowed elderly patriarch Gus (Mark Margolis) is disillusioned with his past and present life and wishes to commit suicide. He has unsuccessfully tried once, and now his family has arrived home to try to dissuade him from doing it again. In the past he was a Communist Union organizer on the waterfront and has been able to provide well for his family. Home is a New York City brownstone that is now worth millions of dollars.
Gus’s has three children. The eldest boy Pill (Lou Liberatore)has failed to get his doctoral degree is married to Paul (Tyrone Mitchell Henderson). The daughter called Empty (Deidre Lovejoy), lives with her lover Maeve (Liz Wisan) who is 8 months pregnant presumably by artificial insemination. The decision to live as a lesbian apparently came late in life and her estranged husband Adam (Anthony Fusco) lives in the basement of the home. Vito (Joseph J. Parks), the younger son, is a blue-collar contractor and has strong belief in the capitalistic system. Aunt Clio (Randy Danson) is Gus’s sister is mostly a sounding board for the other characters and has been looking after Gus. She is important to play because of her belief in Christian Science and has a copy of Mary Baker Eddy’s pamphlet “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.”Another major reference within the play is to George Bernard Shaw’s “The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism” as indicated by the grandiloquent title of Kushner’s play.
Liz Wisan (Maeve), Deirdre Lovejoy (Empty), and Anthony Fusco (Adam)
The pivotal non-member of the family is a street smart hustler Eli (Jordan Geiger) that Pill loves and has been paid thousands of dollars for his services thus threatening the marriage of Paul and Pill. His return to the stage in the final scene is both touching ambiguous.
Kushner is a master at amalgamating everyday action with weighty ideas and this play is further proof of his ability. However you may miss many of those intricacies since Kushner and Taccone allow extended scenes where the characters talk over each other creating pandemonium rather than understanding.
Individually and collectively the actors do great justice to Kushner’s dialog. Mark Margolis leads the way with his portrayal of Gus’s disillusionment that we later learn is infected with guilt. Tyrone Mitchell Henderson dominates the stage with his anger beginning with the first scene that extends deep into the play. Lou Liberatore as the love smitten ineffectual Pill is at his best in a quiet scene with Margolis. Deidre Lovejoy has a difficulty creating therole of Empty probably because Kushner has not fully defined that character. Liz Wisan as the very pregnant Maeve could not give a better performance. Jordan Geiger under-plays Eli to perfection and earns his spot in the final scene of the play. Joseph J. Parks as the angry Vito is a bit excessive but necessary to
Lou Liberatore (Pill) and Jordan Geiger (Eli) portray lovers
create conflict.
Berkeley Rep has mounted Kushner’s opus (almost opus) on a fantastic two level set by Christopher Barecca that alone is worth a visit to the Rhoda Stage but not at the expense of the extended running time of three hours and 45 minutes.
CAST: Tina Chilip (Sooze), Randy Danson (Clio), Anthony Fusco (Adam), Jordan Geiger (Eli), Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Paul), Lou Liberatore (Pill), Deirdre Lovejoy (Empty), Mark Margolis (Gus), Joseph J. Parks (Vito), Robynn Rodriguez (Shelle), and Liz Wisan (Maeve)
CREATIVE TEAM: Christopher Barecca (scenic designer), Meg Neville (costume designer), Alexander V. Nichols (lighting designer), Jake Rodriguez (sound designer), and Julie Wolf (Music Consultant).
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
