Playwright: Terrence McNally
At: Hubris Productions at Hoover-Leppen Theatre, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted
Phone: 773-661-0938; $20
Runs through: Aug. 12
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
At a 2005 Pride event, I was asked to wear a sticker for a women’s smoking cessation program called ‘Bitch to Quit.’
When a friend asked what ‘Bitch to Quit’ meant, I joked, ‘It’s a program to stop gay men from bitch-slapping each other.’ To which my friend replied, ‘Well, that will never stop happening.’
What does this story have to do with the inaugural play in the Center on Halsted’s new Hoover-Leppen Theatre? It seems like someone handed out ‘Bitch to Quit’ stickers to the cast of Hubris Productions’ Love! Valour! Compassion!
There’s plenty of subtle Chekhovian drama in Terrence McNally’s 1995 Tony Award-winning comedy about a group of gay men spending summer holiday weekends together in a remote lake house. But sprinkled throughout are moments of threatened violence, rage-filled yelling and crying despair.
The problem with Hubris Productions’ rendition is that director Scott Shallenbarger never pushes his cast to go beyond an even-tempered keel. So when those shocking moments of anger shatter the languorous atmosphere (particularly when someone tries to force a hand into a running garbage disposal), the acting rings false and limp.
The so-so acting is a pity because Love! Valour! Compassion! is an ideal play to open the Center on Halsted. McNally’s examination of a group of gay touches on numerous issues facing the gay community, ranging from aging conflicts between different generations to survivor’s guilt over HIV and AIDS. Notions of fidelity and the fleetingness of life are poignantly explored, plus the conflicts between embodying gay stereotypes or spurning them.
There’s one major case of miscasting: Anthony Guerrero in the dual roles of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ British twins James and John. As the good twin, Guerrero is quite effective, but he struggles with his British accent instead of embodying the brother that everyone grudgingly tolerates. I would also have liked more exuberance from Michael Graham as the flamboyantly stereotypical showtune queen, Buzz.
At the very least, Hubris Productions has attracted a largely attractive cast (hot, if you will), which befits the snickering title Love! Valour! Gratuitous Male Nudity! that some people attach to the show. Most eyes will be glued to Adrian Gonzalez as Puerto Rican dancer Ramon, not only for his toned body but his good acting, too.
Also pleasant to look at is the coupling of Brian Lee Bennett as the creatively-blocked choreographer Gregory and Andy Sinclair as his younger blind lover, Bobby. Endearing turns come from John Blick and Jacob Christopher Green as the long-term couple of Arthur and Perry.
Hubris Productions’ simplified staging of Love! Valour! Compassion! is clearly not perfect. One can only hope that Hubris Productions will increase its potential in the future as one of the new resident companies at the Center on Halsted.