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| Dan Sykes, Alex Parker - Photo Sherry Netherland |
By Joe Straw
“My story is of Sandy Sonnenberg.
He is my subject. Sandy, son of
Judah, grandson of Sholem, Isaac, and so on; an ancient family of money lenders
going back hundreds of years to the very beginnings of eastern European
ghettos. The line ends with him. And I am going to tell the story as if we
were great, good, old friends.” – Anton
And yes, Anton Kilgallen (Lloyd Pedersen) does tell the tale
as though they were great friends, or does he?
The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre presents The
Paris Letter by Jon Robin Baitz and directed by Jules Aaron. It is a terrific
show for adults with adult themes. This well-written
play seduces us to appreciate the complexities of the human mind when it is tormented
by accumulated years of personal treachery.
The story begins in February 2001. A thirty-something Burt
Sarris (Alex Parker) and a sixtyish Sandy Sonnenberg (Larry Eisenberg) are kissing
in a hysterical embrace. It is one last fling of kissing, or fighting, and/or tearing
at each other’s clothes. But something is
wrong.
Through dialogue, we learn that Sandy is completely confused
about the where-a-bouts of the money he invested with Burt’s “boutique”
investment house. Hundreds of million of dollars are lost in Enron-type trades.
Sandy is responsible to his investors
and he feels betrayed by a “three-card-monte hustling, arriviste faggot”.
Burt tells Sandy that the money lost is in Burt’s name and that
his name will be ruined in the press.
Sandy, so infatuated with Burt, he forgets to hew to the
ways of the previous money-lenders in his family. Still, he has a plan to pay
back his investors. As for Burt, Sandy suggests
that his only way out is to kill himself, which he does. Sandy then gets on a
plane for France on a “quick fiduciary recovery mission” leaving his wife and
friend behind.
Walking out from the shadow of this tragic event and into a
light, Anton tells us a little something about his life and how he befriended
this sordid cast of characters.
Anton’s life has been his restaurant business. And through his connection with Sandy and his
wife, this life is now in shambles.
“I put my life savings into the place, and it seemed safe enough, there
was a solid and loyal clientele and a bottom line. (Beat) I lost my life
savings in the debacle.” – Anton
But how did this happen?
Moving back and forth in time, we venture back to 1998 where
everyone is sitting down to a late night dinner discussing the President’s involvement
in a very nasty extra-marital affair.
“He had a weakness. Which was
exploited by unscrupulous people; yes.
But. Acting on those appetites made him terribly vulnerable, and
therefore made us less safe.” – Sandy
It is a line that comes back to haunt Sandy.
Katie Arlen—Sandy’s wife (Julia Silverman), Sam—Katie’s son
(Dan Sykes), Burt, Sandy, and Anton seem to agree that if the President had
just said “I’m sorry,” the story would have been over.
As the night of heavy drinking takes its toll, Sandy’s
wandering eyes envelops every inch of Burt’s alluring physique. Sandy reaches
across the table to caresses Burt’s hand in remembrance of a moment not so long
ago.
The wine or Sandy’s predilection blurs the division of a
sexual partner and/or an investment partner. Natheless,
Sandy is wary of moving hundreds of million of dollars to someone that he has
known for a few short Monday nights. But
when Burt mentions “The Sonnenberg Fund for Education,” Sandy is hooked.
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| Lloyd Pedersen, Larry Eisenberg - Photo Sherry Netherland |
Later that week, Anton meets his compeer and trusted friend Sandy
for dinner to discuss the millions Sandy is responsible for, his infatuation
with Burt, and his wife.
“Do you discuss this with Katie ever?
Our shared history?” – Sandy
“That we had an affair in 1962?
Please? It’s a joke, it’s an
actual joke, really, and an old one. Why
do you ask?” – Anton
“Oh come on – it was not an affair, it was too brief to be an affair,
it was somewhere in the vicinity of a minor blip on the Kinsey scale.” - Sandy
“So to speak.” – Anton
Anton seems to understand Sandy. And Anton knows Sandy’s history with therapy
did not turn out well and reminds Sandy that his life is spinning out of
control. But Anton’s apotropaic words of
wisdom lead Sandy in the opposite direction and into the young arms of Burt
Sarris.
Going back in time to November 1962, Young Sandy (Dan Sykes)
enters the apartment of Young Anton (Alex Parker). Young Anton bides his time but is clearly the
aggressor in this relationship. Young
Sandy is confused about his sexuality and waits for the inevitable sexual
encounter. And after the small talk, they
begin a relationship that lasts four months – just four months, November 1962
through February 1963.
Anton muses that Young Sandy was in love with him and Young
Sandy was living in hell.
Later, a mystified Young Sandy seeks the help Dr. Moritz Schiffman
(also play by Larry Eisenberg) about turning his sexuality around. In his first session, Young Sandy describes a
sexual encounter with an older camp counselor.
Young Sandy believes that should anyone find out about the encounter, it
would shut the door to his life. When
Young Sandy tells Dr. Schiffman about the money, power and influences of his
father, Dr. Schiffman believes Young Sandy needs to see him five times a week.
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| Dan Sykes, Paul Cady, Julia Silverman - Photo Sherry Netherland |
Young Sandy has a problem of paying for these treatments so
he has lunch with his mother, Lillian (also Julia Silverman), at Anton’s
restaurant, Le Singe D’Or. As she consumes her multiple “Old Fashions” with
umbrellas, Lillian observes the flamboyant things on the wall and the men who
visit the restaurant. It is obvious that Lillian understands Sandy’s
persuasions.
“Darling. I want you to be
happy, I don’t care what you do, be happy.” – Lillian
To help Sandy in the quest for happiness, Lillian gives him
jewelry to pay for psychoanalysis. And with enough money in hand and an excited
psychoanalyst in tow, Sandy leaves Anton for greener pastures.
This is the second time I’ve been to The Lonny Chapman
Theatre and I am impressed by the actors’ commitment to the craft. This is a
marvelous ensemble in a wonderful play.
There are a lot of things to discuss when leaving the
theatre and plays like this are open to interpretation. Right or wrong, I’ll toss
my interpretations out there and you can give your reactions below.
This production has one tiny problem; it is a character
trait, a choice created by the director or actor, an action that takes over siginificant
moments. Perhaps it is a minor point and maybe I’m making a big deal about this
one. But I will get to this later.
Sandy Sonnenberg and Dr. Moritz Schiffman are both played by
Larry Eisenberg. Sonnenberg, even as an adult, is still confused
about his sexuality. He has worked on this his entire life and his confusion
leads him in terrible directions and to disturbing actions. It is a part of
life for which he is never able to reconcile and causing a state of breathless confusion
when confronted with challenging issues.
Eisenberg does a fine job as Sonnenberg although he seems too physical
at times yet without making a dramatic physical connection, a connection that
changes the relationship. Eisenberg also plays Dr. Moritz Schiffman, a doctor who
is excited to learn about young male’s sexual awakening. Eisenberg is terrific,
as Sandy, but the Schiffman character needs further exploration. It is open to too many interpretations considering
the character’s objective. Obviously money is one objective but this doctor
wants to change a gay man into a straight man for his book. He must be very excited about this prospect
and the prospect of documenting his findings.
Lloyd Pedersen as
Anton Kilgallen has an interesting characterization. Think Jack Benny in drag,
no, just think Jack Benny. He says he will tell the story as though they were
great friends but telling us doesn’t mean he must stick to those words.
Throughout this piece, he is constantly battered by the emotions of his friend
who is gay one minute and straight the next. In the end, he has lost so much
that he doesn’t blink and yet he must be a very tortured soul. With that background, he has a reason for doing
what he feels he must do and taking what he must to get back his life. His
actions are horrific but he doesn’t bat an eye.
He tells his story with flair and nuance but without the pain of those moments
that cumulatively lead him to do the dastardly deed. Still Pedersen does a lot of good work.
Alex Parker does
a fine job as Burt Sarris. As the
character, he is so young and so sure of himself while doing things he knows he
must not do. He will stop at nothing to
take your money and give it to the rich. As the character Young Anton, Parker shines. His voice is strong and his physical
movements are precise. As the Young
Anton, he literally takes the bull by the horns and plows his way into his
misguided partner’s life. Parker gives an excellent performance as Sarris and
as Young Anton.
Dan Sykes has
dual roles as Sam and Young Sandy. As Sam the stepson, his performance is very
nuanced and wonderful to watch especially the dinner scene when his stepfather
slights him by not pouring him wine. As Young Sandy, his nerves are completely on
edge. He is ambivalent about having a long-term
sexual relationship with another man and suddenly finding himself in his
apartment without clothes and filled with shame. Sykes gives a tremendous
performance.
Julia Silverman is
fantastic as Lillian Sonnenberg. The
scene in the restaurant is just terrific as the mother to Young Sandy. She is loving and gentle, giving, and understanding
of her son’s plight. She is specific in
her desires and gets what she wants for the sake of love. As Katie Arlen, she
has many wonderful moments but is missing the pain of having to endure the
philandering ways of her husband. The hurt does not appear to be that great, or
deep, and it must be. Also, I believe (in the giving away scene) that the
information she receives should be the first time she has heard it. Still, Silverman
creates a fantastic physical and emotional life in both characters. She is wonderful to watch.
Paul Cady as the waiter was a crowd pleaser.
Jules Aaron, the
director, did a fine job with production and there are a lot of great things in
this presentation. The problem I mentioned is of a character trait, an inhaler
that was used to help Sandy when he was out of breath. The inhaler takes over a scene when we should
be concerned with the words and how those words change or affects the
relationship. Dramatic social intercourse should not be interrupted by the use of a crutch (the inhaler). Sandy says some really hateful things and the inhaler becomes the
reactor and not the actor. When we see
him pull out the inhaler, two things come to mind: does the actor physically need
this? And is it specific to the scene? The
inhaler throws things slightly off in the play. It is said the inhaler ties the
two characters as one in the same person but we already know it’s the
same. Sandy is not a hard name to
forget.
Also, the scene with Sandy and Schiffman at the end of the
first act needed work to propel the audience into the second act. It doesn’t lead us anywhere and, on this night,
it did not move us in a specific direction.
One more thing we need to know definitively is that Anton
has witnessed the murder. It makes
things clearer.
John Robin Baitz, the writer, did not the write the inhaler
in his play. But what he did write is pretty awesome and deserves your
undivided attention. I generally do not like flashbacks but this play gained
momentum as we journeyed back and forth in time in a way that was fascinating.
Chris Winfield’s Set Design is very effective with sliding
doors that give us a peek at the nicely decorated rooms. The sets could have been a little more
downstage and a little more connected with the audience.
Other members of this crew are:
Sherry Netherland – Assistant Director & Program
Patrick Burke – Producer For The Group Rep
Matias Ponce – Stage Manager
J. Kent Inasy – Lighting Design
Liz Nankin – Costume Design (Also a very nice job with the
costumes.)
Steve Shaw – Sound Design
Max Kinberg – Original Music
Jimmy Ogburn – Lightboard
Michele Bernath – Prop Mistress
Emily Doyle, Heliana Martinez – Running Crew
Nora Feldman – Public Relations
Dough Haverty art & soul design – Graphic Design
Run to see the production and take someone who thinks they
may be misguided.
Through September 2, 2012
Reservations: 818-763-5990
www.thegrouprep.com
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