Glorious by Paul Coates

 By Joe Straw 

 

In this time and age theatrical productions presents so many obstacles and the one thing that is still with us is COVID.  Everyone strives a certain level of health, taking all the precautions necessary in order to get a show up on its feet and in the amount of time that was blocked for this production.

 

Glorious, also delayed by COVID, is not the only production that has suffered the same fate this year.  There have been three or four productions that have also shut down due to the health calamities within each cast.

 

But, back on the boards and at the last minute I ventured out on Thursday night knowing other commitments would exclude me from seeing this play. And taking a seat, masked as always, there were others who did not take the same precautions.  One woman sitting a few seats from me, not masked, said she had just gotten over it. I would have preferred not to have known her information.

 

 

City Playhouse & The Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy presented Glorious by Paul Coates which will have closed by the time you read this.

 

The play was constructed by the Studio Playwrights Unit and performed by members of the Actors Studio – a perfect fit for the word stylings of Paul Coates.

 

For the life of me I don’t understand the title as it relates to the play. Maybe in another viewing or reading the play when it is published.

 

Dr. Leslie (Paul Coates) a psychiatrist, in his home office, looks extremely weathered. Possibly it’s his job, or the circumstances surrounding his life, he appears to pour from a thermos, a cup of coffee, takes a sip, or a gulp and continues with his work.  

 

Today his patient is Anna (Jennifer Lassalette) a woman who has just undergone a relaxation procedure of deep breathing. Leslie doesn’t rush anything he lets Anna take her time.  And when that time comes, several characters are brought to life.  She has numerous personalities, and some are downright disagreeable. When she spews sententious rhetoric, she gets a smile out of the good doctor. Anna is there for a reason to work out a problem that has been gnawing on her being for some time. Today, they don’t find the answers, perhaps another day.

 

Dr. Leslie prides himself in his work, dealing with the day-to-day personalities that visit him but for now he takes his healing power and visits his sister in another part of the house.

 

Alexis (Suanne Spoke) rests in bed comfortably accompanied by the disease that will eventually end her life but for now she is happy that she is being watched over by her younger brother. She doesn’t need anything now except perhaps a little water and to spend time reminiscing with her sibling.

 

Alexis is also a psychiatrist and there is no love lost in the competition they have had since the day he was born, sibling rivalry that haunts their beings and will until the moment she dies.  And don’t get them started on the McIntosh twins.

 

Later, Dr. Leslie has a court ordered client Angel (Johnny Cendejas) a young bright-eyed teenager wrapped in an emotional cocoon.  Angel previously had gotten a gun and was threating his abusive stepdad Sean (Brian Gleason) and vice versa.   Today, Angel sits alone in a chair, aware of the trouble he is in but willing to stay in therapy until the job is finished and it would appear there is a way to go.

 

Angel’s mother Carla (Kimberly Green) rushes in to pick up her son.  She is also weathered in a long coat understanding the complexities and relationships between her husband, her son, and Dr. Leslie.  She is in too much of a rush to get her son out the door and doesn’t want to spend time knowing they are scheduled to come back another time in a court ordered meeting.

 

There is a lot of work to do for Dr. Leslie and given the relationships in his life right now there are lives to mend and promises that are not kept also Dr. Leslie makes one huge mistake.

 

Unless there is another incarnation these are some of the best performances you will not see on stage in Los Angeles.

 

Paul Coates, the writer, has written a fascinating play with developed characters with consciences that have problems deeply rooted in the unconsciousness. Each in their own way have their faults plastered and expressed harshly on their surface, all envenomed at one point in their lives, and all need some level of treatment. Historically Coates has been superior at writing characters and establishing unique relationships that works and he does so again in Glorious.

 

Glorious is still being developed and not finished yet.  This was not exactly a reading and not a full-scale production and got some help “with direction from Christina Hart”.  One is looking forward to another incarnation of this production.  Nevertheless, the acting was well above par. In fact, the acting was excellent.

 

Paul Coates is Dr. Leslie and is wonderfully expressive and natural in the role. I mentioned that Dr. Leslie makes one big mistake and I’m not sure this production got the most made from that moment. Coates performance was outstanding.

 

Jennifer Lassalette has her work cut out for her as Anna and other personalities that inhabit her being. And, although the work was excellent, there is more work to add to the other characters making them unique to Anna. One suspects the trick to the other characters is doing more to add to their physical nature. Finding something, an object, a painting that solidifies a character and of course making them all different.

 

Suanne Spoke is excellent as Alexis. Her performance rings true, her relationship with her brother is excellent, and one especially loves her ending scene.  (They never tell you what’s on the other side!)

 

Johnny Cendejas is Angel, the troubled teenager and he also does excellent work. Most of his dialogue is in English but when it is done in Spanish his Spanish is impeccable. One believes his relationship with the doctor should be stronger.  e.g., Angel gets a compliment about his artwork.  At this point he slightly shrugs his shoulders at the mention rather than accepting the information and absorbing the compliments. This should strengthen his ending and make it much more dramatic because now he has a reason. That aside, the work is incredible.

 

When Brian Gleason (Sean) came out at curtain call one saw a completely different personality, one that was pleasant. But Sean was tenebrous and unseemly demonstrative in his actions as the stepfather. Sean was asked if he had done military service and surprisingly, he said no. His socially repugnant actions in therapy caused a deep divide and didn’t help his cause.  What was it that drove this man to those ends? Usually, it’s money and lack of it but we heard little of this. There must be more of a reason why a man acts in the way he does. Still, a wonderful performance.

 

Kimberly Green is Carla and Carla is caught between three worlds, her son, her husband, and the psychiatrist. They pull her in three different directions, and she hasn’t a clue what to do about any of it. In the end she decides but then is ambivalent. Carla needs a better ending.  Green is exceptional in the role.