Open Space Arts’s new production of Scandalous Boy begins with a statue of the Greek youth Antinous (Jose Alexander Martinez), the lover of Hadrian (Jordan Gleaves), coming to life and breaking the fourth wall to begin narrating his years-long relationship with the famous Roman emperor.
David Atfield’s script (being performed outside his native Australia for the first time) flirts with comic anachronisms throughout—there are disco musical cues and Antinous knocks back a martini as he watches one scene play out. But Scandalous Boy raises earnest questions about how power fuels the desire to manipulate those around us. Gleaves is appealing while still occasionally intimidating, portraying Hadrian as the ultimate bear daddy, surrounded by hangers-on like Lucius (Antonio Cruz, in turns villainous and despondent), a former lover turned advisor, and Sabina (Jinyue Yuna Hu), Hadrian’s wife, understandably jealous of her husband’s attentions to Antinous.
Antinous was raised by his mother (Hu, in a double role) to be an eronemos, a sexual companion to a wealthy man, in a system that he admits would now be considered sexual abuse. He spends years learning about pleasing men, struggling to find a wealthy companion, then finally hits the jackpot when Hadrian walks into his life. The bitter Lucius tells Antinous of Hadrian’s implied “three-year rule”: No eronemos has ever lasted more than three years with Hadrian. Antinous sets out to overcome that challenge—but his ambitions are further complicated when he begins an affair with Marcellus (Emiliano Flores), who is closer to Antinous in both age and station.
Martinez does a great job as Antinous, who carries the forward trajectory of the story. He stumbled on a few lines during some monologues in the performance I saw, but he overall projects a dynamic strength and cunning, even as his character rarely wears much more than a pair of sparkling disco shorts throughout the show. Gleaves brilliantly shows off Hadrian’s menace, tenderness and ultimate desperation once his court begins to crumble around him.
Director Benjamin Mills nicely stages this sprawling story in the close quarters of Open Space Arts, and the story moves by at a comfortable clip (though it should be noted there is no intermission). Given the subject matter, there are moments simulating nonconsensual contact and physical violence, but those are presented with the appropriate level of intensity for a small theater.
Scandalous Boy has all the trappings of a Pride Month play—disco, innuendo, snarky comedy—but it ultimately is an effective interrogation of the power dynamics at the heart of any relationship. It is worth seeing.
Scandalous Boy runs through June 28 at Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Ave. Click here for tickets and additional information.