THEATER
This Is Not My Play Medieval actors outrunning the Black Death BY DAVID KENNERLEY he Amateurs,” by Jordan Harrison, a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for “Marjorie Prime,” is a formidably ambitious morality play within a morality play preoccupied with survival. But under the muddled direction of Oliver Butler, it is freighted with too many ideas for its own good. Set in 14th century Europe, the eager comedy follows a motley band of nomadic actors bent on delivering the Holy Scriptures to the masses. The gutsy Harrison, however, refuses to follow the rules, allowing his characters to think and speak in contemporary mode. Meta-theatrics abound. Larking (Thomas Jay Ryan), the company leader who plays God in their productions, is described, sarcastically, as a “big strapping slice of man-meat.” But all is not well. The troupe is trying to outrun the Black Death, and it becomes clear that parallels are being drawn to other plagues like the AIDS pandemic (soon after one of the actors mysteriously dies, his secret male lover develops hideous KS-like lesions) and the World War II Holocaust. For much of the proceedings, we view clunky itera-
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cy. Johnny Flynn is appealingly arrogant as Mooney. Some of the best writing in the play is shown off as Mooney, reveling in his bad boy affect that threatens the people of Oldham, tries to determine if he is “creepy” or “menacing.” In supporting roles, Reece Shearsmith as Syd, Harry’s assistant as a hangman who got fired for questionable behavior, is both sympathetic and hilarious. Sally Rogers as Alice, Harry’s wife, is touching as she falls under Mooney’s spell. So, too, is Gaby French as Shirley, who sees Mooney as a chance to escape from her suffocating parents. Maxwell Caulfield gives a wonderful turn in the second act as Albert, the best hangman, who shows up to call GayCityNews.nyc | March 1 – 14, 2018
Vineyard Theatre 108 East 15th St., btwn. Union Square E. & Irving Pl. Through Mar. 18 Tue.-Thu. at 7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m. Sat.-Sun. at 3 p.m. $79-$99; VineyardTheatre.org Or 212-353-0303 90 mins., no intermission
tions of Noah’s Ark, the ultimate story of extermination. The troupe also stages a strained rendition of the Seven Deadly Sins that would barely pass muster in a grade school. There are only six actors, so one must portray two sins. Midway through, the story is stopped cold by an actor (a deliciously engaging Michael Cyril Creighton) playing an actor (named Gregory, who creates the sets and special effects for the productions) playing the Playwright (Harrison). Got that? So they bump up the house lights and the Playwright tries to elucidate the play’s motifs of hu-
manity and mortality and individuality. He tells anecdotes about his sixth grade health teacher explaining the origins of AIDS and gives a lesson on the increasingly naturalistic depiction of the Madonna and Child in art history — the evolution from icon to woman. “Maybe there’s no one in charge,” the Playwright says. “Maybe we can act for ourselves, maybe we can go off script.” Then Quincy Tyler Bernstine, the actress who plays the troupe’s leading lady, takes the stage to further discuss the value of going rogue. For sure, “The Amateurs” is yet another riff on Shakespeare’s “All
the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players,” which itself is a riff on similar themes that can be traced as far back as Petronius. It also recalls Pirandello’s absurdist gem “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” except here the characters are irksomely underdeveloped. In her extended monologue, Bernstine recounts her portrayal of Mrs. Cratchit in “A Christmas Carol,” where the line between herself and her character became hopelessly blurred. “I mean, who am I and who is the audience? Who are you? Please don’t answer. It’s not that kind of play.” Pity there are too many jarring themes and thoughts flying around onstage for us to figure out, or care, what kind of play this really is.
Harry out on the self-aggrandizing newspaper interview. The rest of the company is excellent at conveying the dreary sameness of life in Oldham. What ultimately motivates the characters and the play is McDonagh’s deliciously jaundiced view that with or without a fair trial or a rope, we are all too willing to hang one another. Tickets for the run at the Atlantic are scarce, though there is a cancellation line at every performance. Rumor is that the show is moving to Broadway. Don’t miss it.
son. The play is a pallid rip-off of Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros,” except that rather than being a shining pinnacle of existential theater, “Pete Rex” posits that guys should give up playing video games and be better boyfriends. Pete and Bo are best friends devoted to playing the Madden NFL 07 video game, but oblivious to the fact that dinosaurs are running rampant in their suburban Pennsylvania town. That is until Julie, Pete’s ex, shows up to warn them. Pete sacrifices Bo to the dinosaurs, which is necessary because Bo comes back as Nero, the dinosaur who proceeds to school Pete on how to be a better person. And, surprise, surprise, the whole endeavor turns out to be a dream! In a protoJungian catharsis, Pete confronts
the dinosaur as an archetype of childishness and learns that he must give up his childish ways and become an integrated adult — and not play video games when his girlfriend wants to talk. Thompson’s writing is juvenile and obvious. However, what life this play has comes from the players who throw themselves into the piece with gusto and conviction. Rosie Sowa as Julie is earnest and believable. Greg Carere is sympathetic as Pete and gives the role a depth the script does not. Simon Winheld as Bo and Nero is terrific, and his Paleolithic antics establish him as an excellent comedian with an impressive range. The performances of these fine actors will live on even as the play they’re in becomes — wait for it — extinct.
CAROL ROSEGG
Michael Cyril Creighton and Quincy Tyler Bernstine in Jordan Harrisons “The Amateurs,” directed by Oliver Butler, at the Vineyard through March 18.
One of the challenges of New York theatergoing is that one is often witness to wonderful actors in less-than-wonderful plays. Such is the case with “Pete Rex,” a new play by Alexander V. Thomp-
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