Terrence McNally's "Some Men" - Philadelphia Theatre Company 5/23/06

[Barihunk]

Posted: 5/24/06 at 1:53pm

I attended a performance of Terrence McNally's new play "Some Men" at the Philadelphia Theatre Company last night. As a fan of Mr. McNally's it saddens me to report that this well-intentioned meditation on gay marriage and the gay experience falls seriously short of the calibre of his previous work. While there may be a worthy play in search of construction (or a point) in there somewhere it is not yet apparent here in Philadelphia despite top-notch performances from the cast.

As the entire play is nothing more than a loosely joined jumble of vignettes, it would be exhausting to try to piece together a plot line. The time shifts in the first act from the Waldorf Astoria in the present, to a bathhouse in 1973, a Harlem speakeasy in 1934, then 1969, 1954, the late seventies and ends in 1969 on the night of the Stonewall Riots. The second act takes us from 2005, to 2003, 1998, to 1982 and ends ...well, its hard to say, are we in heaven, back at the Waldorf, both? Characters are introduced, disappear, reappear, disappear, only to be mentioned in passing again in the second act. It is harder to discribe than to witness but the overall concept, while ambitious, crumbles under the weight of its own ambitions. Attempts are made to have a recurring plot line and characters developed to care about, but they never stick around long enough or say anything profound enough to register. Some individual scenes are wonderful. There is a touching monologue for a young black man in 1934 Harlem as he tells us that Lorenz Hart wrote "10 cents a dance" for him. There is another moving scene with a cadet presenting the american flag to the mother of his lover killed in Iraq (which McNally nearly ruins with a Friend of Dorothy joke). There is a simulated cyber-chat room recreation that is entertaining enough (even if Marber did it better in "Closer") and there is an extended scene with two older gay men being interviewed by two younger gay men that while over-long, registers strongly. The latter scene and a scene set in a West Village piano bar on the night of the Stone Wall riots show McNally at his finest. The characters are sharply drawn and the humor is spot on. Unfortnately, the play as a whole is too diffuse in its focus to make much of an impression. There is enough material here for 2 or 3 plays, but as it stands now, the material, while sometimes tantalyzing with occasional glimmers of promise, falls flat.

What is not in question is the fantastically talented cast. I shudder to think what this evening could have been in lesser hands. As two songstresses (Diva Black and Diva White)weaving in and out of the scenes Suzzanne Douglas and Barbara Walsh make the most of their material. Douglas is a phenomenal singer and does extremely strong work as both a nightclub singer in the Harlem speakeasy scene and as the mother of the slain soldier at the top of Act II. Barbara Walsh turns in solid work although she is saddled with a bitter wife being left by her gay husband scene that should really be cut. The men are uniformly strong. Malcom Gets and Stephen Bogardus have the lions share of the roles and they are terrific. Gets' best work comes in the first act closer as a gay man facing cancer (and Judy Garland's death). He delivers a "Happy Days are Here Again" solo and then in duet with the two Divas that is genuinely moving. Stephen Bogardus is a grounding presence for the show as the only person who really gets to play a through-character. Don Amendolia offers strong support in minor roles throughout. The real treat of the evening though is John Glover. He offers richly detailed and nuanced characters througout the evening and his scene as a foul-mouthed drag queen at the end of Act 1 is priceless.

Glints of McNally's gift for one-liners are present sparingly. (Man 1: I think Vodka is the downfall of today's youth. Man 2: Judy Garland drank Vodka. Man 1: Judy Garland drank anything.) Ultimately, while he raises many questions about gay marriage and the how generations inform other generations, he offers no answers. As a result, the show suffers fataly from a lack of a viewpoint. I'm not sure how much of this can be fixed before it plays the Second Stage. Certainly, if the present cast is retained, it would be worth a trip... that is if McNally is your cup of tea. Hopefully some editing and a stronger ending to Act II (which is at present groaningly awful) will give McNally's "Some Men" a better showing in NYC.

On to the celeb sightings, actor/convicted sex offender Jeffrey Jones of Ferris Bueller fame was in attendance as was Michael McKean on a night off from "Pajama Game" with wife Annette O'Toole.

Updated On: 5/24/06 at 01:53 PM

[mlsheehan]

Posted: 5/24/06 at 4:21pm

Yes, but how was Tom Judson????? Does he have any part other than piano player?

[Barihunk]

Posted: 5/25/06 at 8:26am

Tom Judson was primarily the piano player and was terrific - until the last scene. They staged him in it even though he had no lines and let me just say I was thrilled they did... as he had primarily been in shadow and the background the entire evening I did not recognize him at first ... and I must say the tight black T-shirt he was wearing displayed his tatooed biceps perfectly.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 5/25/06 at 8:50am

It's nice to hear the McNally is finally getting away from cliché and stereotypes.
This sounds like a spoof of a McNally play.

[Barihunk]

Posted: 5/25/06 at 9:17am

Sueleen

You have no idea how true that statement is. At times I felt like I was watching an extended gay-themed episode of Saturday Night Live.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 5/25/06 at 9:43am

How many saucy refrences were there to characters being circumscised (or not)?
That's one of Terrences particular fascinations.

Updated On: 5/25/06 at 09:43 AM

[Barihunk]

Posted: 5/25/06 at 9:56am

Wow MasterLcz - you win the jackpot on that one. There was only one (that I can remember) reference (a young Irish chauffer sleeping with his Jewish millionaire employer) - but it was there!