Theater Review
Almost noir with 'Blue'
By Keisha ThomasStaff Writer
Somewhere in the corner of
Culver City, there is a dark and shadowy street, lined with equally grim
buildings resembling factories and warehouses. For those who dare to
venture into this dusky setting, there lies a light at the end of the
tunnel -- the performance space of the Evidence Room.The Evidence Room, a
theater company born just four years ago, purports that its aim is to
produce "aggressive, imaginative, unpredictable events" for a "younger,
more engaged audience." A production entitled "Almost Blue" is its most
recent event, and while it doesn't fully embody the company's goal, it
comes gloriously close.The story revolves around
Phil (Christian Leffler), a jaded and despondent resident of a room in a
dilapidated apartment building. Fresh from a term at the local jail, he's
revealed to be the ultimate antihero -- pathetic at best, utterly
contemptible at worst. The only thing breaking up the monotony of his daily
existence is his friend from the room below, Blue (Tom Fitzpatrick).However, Phil's life
becomes unexpectedly complicated when the ex-wife of one of his former
inmate friends appears on his doorstep. Liz (Laura D'Arista) brings news of
her husband Steve's recent death. However, along with this update, she also
brings with her a wealth of problems for the antisocial recluse.The situation heats up all
the more when a quite alive Steve (Tim Streeter) shows up later. It isn't
long before the four find themselves embroiled in a web of murder, betrayal
and alternating flashes of honesty and deceit."Almost Blue" is an
absorbing experiment in theater noir. Spectators may be more familiar with
the art of film noir. Literally "black film," film noir is a style of film
often characterized by dark, hazy settings and cynical, disillusioned
characters. The principles are the same for theater noir; only the medium
differs. The company captures the essence of noir beautifully in its use of
austere lighting and set design. The characters move through the space
almost like shadows, the bleak darkness of their personalities blending in
with the backdrop.The characters even make
references to film noir within their conversations. Blue tells Phil about
how his dreams resemble Fritz Lang films with their "shadows and shiny
streets." The characters of Phil and Liz actually mirror conventional
figures in film noir -- he, the estranged loner, imprisoned by a
self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world; she, the dangerous femme
fatale who threatens his familiar solitude.However, this is where the
play runs into a few problems. In attempting to echo filmic conventions,
the production sometimes collapses into standardized clichs. For instance,
Liz enters with a sultry gait, her voice resounding with that
gravel-dipped-in-honey edge made famous by the likes of Barbara Stanwyck
and Lauren Bacall in the 1940s. The character of Steve likewise proves a
slightly updated version of the archetypal jailbird of classical Hollywood
cinema. Blue is perhaps the closest thing to an original character type the
production has to offer. An older man colored by nuances of homosexuality,
he possesses an intimate affection for Phil. Is it a fatherly love...or
something more? He clings to Phil, even when the standoffish young man
tries to cast him off."I'm your friend and you're
my friend," he tells Phil. It seems more of a plea than a statement of
fact. Fitzpatrick fills out the character of Blue nicely as he breathes
life into a persona not so closely associated to past stereotypes.This isn't to say that the
other actors do their characters any disservice. Quite the contrary, each
infuses their personality with a violent energy all their own. However, the
entire production is simply too dependent on filmic proprieties -- to the
point where it appears they've tried to put a short film on the stage. But,
film is film and theater is theater. While the two have blended on occasion
in the history of the arts (see Mankiewicz's "All About Eve" or Hitchcock's
"Rope") without the apt skill of a fine director, a film on stage is little
better than a filmed play.The performances are
emotionally charged, the surroundings appropriate. However, a bit of the
theatricality of the production has been lost to the influence of film,
which turns out to be the play's biggest detriment. In a note contained
within the play's program, director Bart DeLorenzo notes that "Almost Blue"
is "more closely linked to the pitch-black novels of Jim Thompson and James
Cain...." However, what DeLorenzo
fails to note is that he is not working in the medium of literature (or
film, for that matter); he's operating in theater. Instead of drawing on a
plethora of stock film characters, he should push himself and his actors to
create fresh theatrical representations within the familiar artistic
context of noir. With a renewed realization of his medium, DeLorenzo could
easily transform "Almost Blue" into good theater with cinematic elements
rather than passable theater trying to be film. B-"Almost Blue" plays Thursdays through Sundays until Oct. 26 at the Evidence Room in Culver City. Tickets are $12 with a student ID, and $15 without. For more information, call (310) 841-2799.