Ouch, love really hurts
MICHAEL SMITH World Entertainment Writer, 12/07/2002
Lisa McCrossen and Don Miller appear in a scene from the Theater Club’s production of “Closer.” STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
'Closer' reminds viewers that a real-life heart looks like a fist drenched in blood
In this season of miracles, holiday cheer and opening your heart to your fellow man, Theater Club offers counter programming to Tulsa's annual Christmas productions with a show about romance which reminds that if you've ever seen a heart, you know it looks like a fist drenched in blood.
A bit harsh? You bet, and so is everything about "Closer," playwright Patrick Marber's raw work that touches on every part of a relationship between two couples who hook up, disconnect and change partners but never find true intimacy or anything close to love.
The setting is '90s London, and our combatants in this brutal game are Alice (Lisa McCrossen), a stripper who is not what she seems; Dan (George Nelson), a newspaper obituary writer/professional heel; Anna (Marnie Ducato), a photographer with a heart of ice; and Larry, a dermatologist who craves sexual contact and enjoys inflicting pain.
Yes, they're a lovely bunch for which l-o-v-e is a four-letter word. The stripper is the only character who engenders the slightest bit of sympathy in director Vern Stefanic's production, which opened Thursday night at the Nightingale Theater.
We have early couplings between Alice and Dan, then Anna and Larry, but these are people who are never quite satisfied with what's right in front of them. They are a case study of sexual confusion run amok.
Marber's play is insightful and comically caustic in raising questions about what causes people to be attracted to one another initially, how strong those bonds really are and the sexual politics that come into play as a relationship's fortunes ebb and flow, come together and come undone.
And when it all comes undone here, it erupts into malice between these people who believe in telling each other safe-for-now lies rather than painful truths.
Dan is attracted to Alice's sexual appearance, but he's more intrigued by Anna's mystery and independence.
Anna is fond of Dan, but she's married to Larry, whom she will cheat on eventually. Larry is the ultimate manipulator here, and it's not enough for him to hear Anna say that she's been having an affair with Dan.
No, Larry wants to know every detail about the trysts. It's a disturbing scene watching Larry shout down Anna, and it feels real -- thanks to Miller's intensity and Ducato's frightened reactions.
Now if only the rest of the play came off this solidly. While the actors clearly relish these outburst scenes, they're just not as believable as they should be because of a lack of genuine chemistry.
For these moments of passion and loss to play out properly, the audience should believe that these characters have something to lose. But the fact is that there's no foundation of affection between the actors from the start. The relationships never seem real to begin with, so the loss seems negligible.
There's a little flirty spark between Miller and Ducato when they initially meet (a set-up following a clever chat-room sexcapade between Larry and Dan, who pretends to be a woman), but there's not nearly enough heat generated to sustain this epic.
Speaking of heat, there was none to be found Thursday night at the Nightingale. It was bitterly cold inside the building, perhaps around 50 degrees.
Audience members wrapped up in coats, gloves, blankets, each other -- it was inexcusable.
Unfortunately, just as harsh as the language and bitter as the cold is the length of this play, coming in at three hours. Stefanic has got to pick up the pacing, especially in the leisurely first act.
Reportedly Marber directed his play himself in London five years ago and brought it in at 2 hours, 15 minutes.
Theater Club's production of "Closer" continues with 8 p.m. performances Saturday and Dec. 12-14. All shows are at the Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St. Tickets are $8 and may be purchased at the door or reserved in advance by calling 857-9154.
Note: This play contains mature subject matter and sexually explicit language, which some may find offensive.
Michael Smith, World entertainment writer, can be reached at 581-8334 or via e-mail at michael.smith@tulsaworld.com