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FlickrReview: The One-Eyed Man is King
Right, Mr. Blog. You're a writer's blog, it's time you occasionally start acting like one; and since we can't be arsed to keep better tabs on current releases in fiction we'll have to do the next best thing and talk about theater.
Thursday night, as I was settling in for a bit of pre-writing dinner, I received a text message from a friend, telling me that her housemate was in a play on Friday night, and asking: would I like to come? Being thirsty for adventure, I said "Yes, absolutely". The production in question was the Phoenix Theater's production of Carter W. Lewis's The One-Eyed Man is King; and as of now, there is no level on which I regret having taken up my friend's offer.
My experience with independent theater has been resolutely binary: either the play is superlative and I start earmarking actors for futures on Broadway or in Hollywood, or I leave knowing exactly why this play and those actors are things one's never heard of. I am elated to say that this play is the former.
The One-Eyed Man is King is, like all the best kinds of art, something that is only knowable through the experience of it; a plot summary wouldn't be so much at risk of spoiling the fun as it would be at risk of making no sense or seeming silly without the actors, the space, the experience of viewing to drive it. So I will say it briefly: The One-Eyed Man is King is a play about a blind burglar, the alcoholic rich woman whom he attempts to rob, and their small, broken families. But of course, also like all great art, the play is much more.
The script is fantastic: witty without being wacky, deeply insightful and intelligent, and poignant without delving into the ugly arty minimalism that seems to plague so many plays that want to tell a moral. Likewise, the Phoenix Theatre's use of its space is superb: the actors, the positioning, the lighting are all used to create a real, immersive three-dimensional space, in which the audience can understand all the necessary data to know what is going on and enjoy the play, but find new details depending upon where they look. It seems like such a basic thing, but this cast and crew does it in a way that begs repeated viewings to see what I missed.
If I haven't mentioned the actors in detail, it's because I saved the best for last. All plays depend on their actors, but The One-Eyed Man is King is a script that lives or dies on the strength of its cast—and this cast makes it into something superlative. Andi Trindle makes the rich woman dysfunctional and distressed in a way that is so real it makes the viewer's guts twist; her daughter-in-law (Allie Jones) is a believable portrait of the kind of emotional half-logic that powers teenagers (and really most people) in distress; and the thief's father (Michael Moerman) oozes wisdom, smarm, and raunch in equal amounts, without ever being anything short of lovable. And while I don't want to suggest the others were anything short of amazing, Dan Wilson's portrayal of the thief had to be one of the linchpins of this play. I cannot imagine the level of training it took for him to never quite look anybody in the face while he spoke; and his delivery of the thief's lines (if not the wittiest character the one most prone to spewing witticisms) brings the character to a real, unique life.
The One-Eyed Man is King could easily have been arty trash, a slice-of-life burrito without anything of substance in the middle; but instead, the Phoenix Theater and its players delivers a powerful and entertaining performance. If you're in the San Francisco area while it's running, do yourself a favor and go see it; tickets are $20, and there are shows this weekend and next, as well as a run on Thursday the 28th. Details are available at www.phoenixtheatresf.org; and if you liked it make sure to tell your social networking tools, as these guys run (somewhat admirably) on word of mouth. It's really worth all the effort.
Thursday night, as I was settling in for a bit of pre-writing dinner, I received a text message from a friend, telling me that her housemate was in a play on Friday night, and asking: would I like to come? Being thirsty for adventure, I said "Yes, absolutely". The production in question was the Phoenix Theater's production of Carter W. Lewis's The One-Eyed Man is King; and as of now, there is no level on which I regret having taken up my friend's offer.
My experience with independent theater has been resolutely binary: either the play is superlative and I start earmarking actors for futures on Broadway or in Hollywood, or I leave knowing exactly why this play and those actors are things one's never heard of. I am elated to say that this play is the former.
The One-Eyed Man is King is, like all the best kinds of art, something that is only knowable through the experience of it; a plot summary wouldn't be so much at risk of spoiling the fun as it would be at risk of making no sense or seeming silly without the actors, the space, the experience of viewing to drive it. So I will say it briefly: The One-Eyed Man is King is a play about a blind burglar, the alcoholic rich woman whom he attempts to rob, and their small, broken families. But of course, also like all great art, the play is much more.
The script is fantastic: witty without being wacky, deeply insightful and intelligent, and poignant without delving into the ugly arty minimalism that seems to plague so many plays that want to tell a moral. Likewise, the Phoenix Theatre's use of its space is superb: the actors, the positioning, the lighting are all used to create a real, immersive three-dimensional space, in which the audience can understand all the necessary data to know what is going on and enjoy the play, but find new details depending upon where they look. It seems like such a basic thing, but this cast and crew does it in a way that begs repeated viewings to see what I missed.
If I haven't mentioned the actors in detail, it's because I saved the best for last. All plays depend on their actors, but The One-Eyed Man is King is a script that lives or dies on the strength of its cast—and this cast makes it into something superlative. Andi Trindle makes the rich woman dysfunctional and distressed in a way that is so real it makes the viewer's guts twist; her daughter-in-law (Allie Jones) is a believable portrait of the kind of emotional half-logic that powers teenagers (and really most people) in distress; and the thief's father (Michael Moerman) oozes wisdom, smarm, and raunch in equal amounts, without ever being anything short of lovable. And while I don't want to suggest the others were anything short of amazing, Dan Wilson's portrayal of the thief had to be one of the linchpins of this play. I cannot imagine the level of training it took for him to never quite look anybody in the face while he spoke; and his delivery of the thief's lines (if not the wittiest character the one most prone to spewing witticisms) brings the character to a real, unique life.
The One-Eyed Man is King could easily have been arty trash, a slice-of-life burrito without anything of substance in the middle; but instead, the Phoenix Theater and its players delivers a powerful and entertaining performance. If you're in the San Francisco area while it's running, do yourself a favor and go see it; tickets are $20, and there are shows this weekend and next, as well as a run on Thursday the 28th. Details are available at www.phoenixtheatresf.org; and if you liked it make sure to tell your social networking tools, as these guys run (somewhat admirably) on word of mouth. It's really worth all the effort.
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posted by Tyler at
11:25 AM
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