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| Noah Bridgestock (l) Nathan Mohebbi photos by Mati Gelman |
By Joe Straw
Afterglow is defined as good feelings remaining after a pleasurable or successful experience.
The one remarkable thing about this production is the effective scenic design by Ann Beyersdorfer in the intimate space of the Hudson Theatre. Stage left and right walls are structured opening to brick walls lined with pulsating lights and the upstage wall is a reflective wall mirroring the audience which slides open from time to time. A neon lit bed is suddenly raised, after use, to the ceiling, becoming a working shower center stage that drains through a grate into the floor. The lined floor later becomes translucent, with florescent lighting giving us an entirely new place. There are a number of location changes from one apartment to the next, then up on the roof, to an office space somewhere in the city. Most changes are made with the effective use of water resistant cubes. A huge amount of time, money, and effort went into the thinking and construction of the space and demands a significant applause.
Midnight Theatrical with S. Asher Gelman presents Afterglow written and directed by S. Asher Gelman at the Hudson Theatre through June 19th, 2022.
Alex (James Hayden Rodriguez) and Josh (Noah Bridgestock) are happily married. But with upcoming changes in their lives they have a problem not immediately known to them yet. They invite Darius (Nathan Mohebbi) into their bed, in their apartment, a short-term ravishing interaction lasting as long as a hurried moment. Clothes and shoes, and underwear strewn across their apartment floor, hurriedly discarded in a lustful examination of bodies and breath. A ravishing encounter of licentious examination, culminating in unrestrained excitement, played behind a curtain before the screen drops from the ceiling, exposing them, to one harsh reality.
Silence.
They embrace; all are nude and bask in the moment of afterglow before Alex comes to an uncomfortable realization. He decides to leave the moment, completely satisfied that this may be a one shot deal, moves to take a shower first, but leaves his husband behind with Darius. This gives Josh and Darius a moment to enjoy each other, an interaction that may play beyond a discarded dalliance.
Before Alex steps back into the room, Josh feels the need to arrange another meeting with Darius again the following day. His job doesn’t have a timetable, he has the afternoon free and because he and his husband have an open relationship they decide to meet.
The married team has a rule with casual acquaintances, no sleepovers.
They step back into their clothes and reality, the husband team is facing middle-age now and they are expecting a surrogate baby soon so things seems to be moving in a direction where they will need to act in a united front and start getting things ready to have a baby move in with them. But it appears that nothing is moving in that direction.
Josh is the financially stable one and provides for his husband who is in college. Josh is also in the arts, casting, directing and acting. His schedule varies and he is free to see Darius, who works as a masseuse. Their encounter relives the night before, excited to be near each other they dance, excited to be in each other’s sphere they touch.
Later, Alex decides to get a massage from Darius but it seems to be for a fact-finding mission to find out what’s going on between his husband and another man who doesn’t squarely fit into his picture. The afterglow from their earlier encounter seems to be dissipating.
Without coming right out and saying it Alex lets it be know that he is unhappy, that he cannot be instantly happy when Josh greets him at the door. Alex wants Josh to end the relationship with Darius. That’s when things move a direction for which there is no turning back.
There is a lot to enjoy about this production, how a relationship beyond a threesome may never work out to anyone’s complete satisfaction, especially beyond a marital relationship.
S. Asher Gelman’s directing and writing is more than satisfactory and requires only a slight tweaking to drive home the moments and the objectives of the character. Also, it’s not often that you see dancing in a small space work so effectively and with a purpose. The movement was also accompanied by smooth transitioning from one place to the next by the seamless movement of wet set pieces. In Gelman’s vision, no one is the antagonist in their relationship; they are just advocating on their own behalf, getting what they want no matter who is hurt. And end the end they are all hurt.
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| James Hayden Rodriguez (l) Noah Bridgestock |
As Alex, James Hayden Rodriguez must know it is the end of the line for his husband and him. He has a lot to lose ending the relationship, his home, his education, and his future child. But he’s at the end of his rope and enough is enough. He doesn’t come right out and say it, demand it, or give a final ultimatum but we know where he is going. Rodriguez’s performance is both ambivalent and exciting all rolled up in a stunning performance.
Noah Bridgestock plays Josh and for some reason Josh thinks he can do what he likes. He is, after all the breadwinner. The money flows through him and he will do anything he feels like doing. Although in a committed relationship things don’t go according to his plan and there’s where the problem starts. The signs of his indiscretions are plastered across his face like an unwanted tattoo, the deceit, and out right lies are recipes for his relationship’s demise, which ultimately become a disaster. His love is a facade, open like the wall surrounding his home. Bridgestock is excellent in the role.
Darius cannot be as innocent as he proclaims to be. There is, or can be a rich history, with his background. Nathan Mohebbi plays him as an innocent participant in what is going on around him. But, the reality is his history; he knows he is having financial difficulties. His masseuse business is not all that successful. Living in New York is expensive so he latches on to someone who has connections and money to move his life along. He gets involved with a married couple. He gets further entangled with one of his lovers, and when he is almost at the end of his rope, he tells his lover that it’s too expensive to live in New York and must move away. He suddenly becomes the bad guy in more ways than one without thinking he’s done anything wrong. Mohebbi is excellent in the role.
Nate Richardson is the swing and did not perform the night I was there.
Jamie Roderick lighting design was impeccable especially when it came to the shower scenes, the outdoor scenes, and the opening scene.
Other members of this outstanding crew are as follows:
Robbie Simpson – Associate Director
Alex Mackyol – Sound Design
Angela Sonner – Stage Manager
Nico Parducho – Assistant State Manager
Aja Morris-Smiley – Associate Costumer
Ann James, Chelsey Morgan – Intimacy Coordinators of Color
Kate Lumpkin, CSA – Casting
RRR Creative – Advertising and Marketing
Demand PR – Press Agent
Bryant Cyr – Production Manager
Evan Bernardin Productions – General Management.
For Tickets please visit www.afterglow.com
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