GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
“He Hunts” Geffen Playhouse (310) 208-5454
Through May 19
Bring Kleenex. Audience members are sure to laugh until they cry
while watching Georges Feydeau’s play “He Hunts.”
Translated by Philip Littell, the French farce is one of clever and
quick-witted comedy. The play begins with Leontine, a rich and
beautiful lady, who is married to Duchotel. However, audience
members soon meet Moricet, an unmarried doctor, who pines for
Leontine’s love. Things only become more amusing when Moricet
meets Madame Latour (Carol Kane), a former countess with a
“slight” drinking problem, who adds to the twisting of
fate and complications. Moricet, played by Stephen Nichols, can be
overly emotional in an absolutely hilarious way. He delivers his
lines and portrays the part of a distraught man with fun and
outlandish manners. Valerie Pettiford (Leontine) plays her part to
the max, whether acting as the loving wife or the catty lover.
Other cast members also add to the color and vivaciousness of the
play, whether it be the stereotypical French maid who dislikes
everything or the husband who copies his nephew’s ridiculous
fashion sense. Although the farce focuses on sex, it is ironic in
the sense that no one in the play actually “gets any.”
Every time Moricet gets remotely close to having his chance, he is
interrupted or humiliated in new and amusing ways by Madame Latour.
Although audience members may think the worse has happened and
there is no getting out of the twists that have been made,
everything comes together in the end. Whether they come together
for the best or worse is the question the audience must decide, but
in so doing, they will discover a play full of amusement and
laughter.
Laura Morgan
“TAPE” Coast Playhouse (323) 856-4200
Through May 11
Sex. Drugs. Rape. Mix these ingredients together, throw them
into a seedy Lansing, Michigan hotel room, and you get Steven
Belber’s titillating new play “Tape.” The play
recounts the story of two high school buddies who reunite and end
up discussing a fateful night during senior year when one of them
may have raped the other guy’s high school girlfriend. Drama
continues to build as the girlfriend shows up, insults are thrown
and the cops are called. The play is a whirlwind, mind boggling,
convoluted concoction made up of everything from a pot-smoking,
crack-snorting drug dealer to a professional assistant district
attorney with a potty mouth. Coupling the plot together with the
characters, it’s easy to see the situation on “Jerry
Springer: I may or may not have raped my best friend gone drug
dealer’s high school ex-girlfriend ten years ago, and
he’s come back for revenge.” By having an underlying
profound theme, Belber presents a play that is both enjoyable and
insightful. Not only does he entertain the audience, he also makes
them analyze themselves at the same time. The acting further added
to the play’s amazing qualities. Dominic Fumusa, as Vince,
turned in a remarkably realistic performance of a drug dealer on a
“moral crusade” to clear up his best friend’s
wrongs. Alison West, as Amy, blew the audience away not only with
her impeccable fashion sense (Go Anne Taylor!), but also her
passionately articulate performance. Overall, “Tape”
was a successfully entertaining performance. Though it had its
flaws, they were overshadowed by the play’s deep theme of
remembering and analyzing one’s past (and of course the joint
the actors smoked on stage). Thought definitely not a first-date
play to go see with a new honey (or feminist), “Tape”
would be well suited for the insightful, compassionate quality
inside of most people (if it exists). It’s a worthwhile
evening filled with drugs, sex and a shady hotel room ““ who
needs a hooker?
Siddarth Puri