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Sunday, June 28, 2009
Stuck in 'Biloxi' with the blues
By Barry Gaines
For the Journal
Among many of my counterparts in the American Theater Critics Association, the term "community theater" is dismissed with condescension. Virtually all of the theater in Albuquerque is amateur or community theater, and I staunchly defend it. We have much excellent theater in "The Q," but it is also necessary to acknowledge bad theater. The performance of Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" I saw recently at the Desert Rose Playhouse was bad.
Yes, I know that everyone involved is an unpaid volunteer donating time and talent — meager though it may be — because of a love of theater. Yes, I have profound sympathy for actors who forget their lines, are poorly costumed or badly directed. Yes, I know that it is easier to sit in the audience and find fault than it is to perform on stage. However, as long as theaters charge admission (not to me), I believe a potential audience deserves an honest, even sympathetic review and a minimum level of competence.
So what went wrong at the Desert Rose? "Biloxi Blues" is a light Neil Simon comedy that won the Tony for Best Play in 1985, so it certainly has credentials. As usual, Simon turns his own experience, in this case basic military training in 1943, into a clever mix of ethnic stereotypes and one-line jokes.
When director Michael Montroy cast this production, however, he chose slim Vikram Bakshi from India to play Wykowski, the physically intimidating Polish recruit. References to Wykowski as a Pollack were not altered and made no sense. He chose Maddie Lusk, female, to play recruit Don Carney, male. And he chose Adam Dazzo, with an arm covered in bold tattoos, to portray Jewish intellectual Epstein. Why?
Lusk also designed the set that featured three two-tiered bunks that were constantly, clumsily and noisily pushed on and off stage. At least put some castors on them. No costumer is listed, but the 1943 soldiers wear Dockers — at least remove the tags.
The Simon character, Eugene (Travis Snow), had a hole at the crotch seam of his pants and came on stage once with his fly open. Sergeant Toomey (Jim Charleston) spoke of and gestured to military ribbons that were absent from his shirt, and Selridge (Chris Love) looked at his bare wrist to announce the time. A book with "blank pages" has printing in it. Picky, picky.
The lighting board operator and actors were slow to pick up cues and shaky in their line delivery. In the climactic scene toward the end of the play, one character not only forgot his lines but also began repeating lines from the previous act. Four pages of dialogue were dropped including crucial events that others later speak of. Enough.
"Biloxi Blues" by Neil Simon, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through July 12, the Desert Rose Playhouse, 6921-E Montgomery NE, $12. Call 881-0503 for ticket information.
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