REVIEW: Mobtown's Thrilling 'The Goat' Pushes Boundaries

Many theatres claim to be edgy and ultra-modern, but in Baltimore the only place that comes through with it regularly is the Mobtown Players.  This seriously underrated group is nothing if not consistent, bringing high quality theatre to our city on a shoe-string budget.  These folks truly understand that the play is the thing – sets and effects are spare, bringing the text and the actors to the forefront.  Normally, I wouldn't bring these facts to light, especially given the consistency of them, but they are of note now due to a major change in the group's leadership.  Earlier this year, co-founding artistic director Ryan Whinnem stepped down to pursue opportunities in DC, and brought in director Alex Willis as the new AD.  If this inaugural production under the new regime is any indication of Mobtown's future, it is a bright one. 

What a way to start!  Most theatre companies would shy away from Edward Albee's award-winning play, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?  In fact, many still consider it a small miracle that it made it to Broadway, where it swept the major awards.  And here is the hard part for this critic, how to review it and not give away the plot.  Hmmm. Well, the plot does concern a goat (literally) named Sylvia, whose existence and relationship with a man changes everything a long-married and previously happy couple believed was true about their marriage.  The repugnant ideas that the play presents may be hard to take by some theatre goers, but they are presented with such depth of emotion and outright hilarity that the topic itself becomes secondary to the outcomes, which is what master playwright Albee surely intends.  While no one will doubt that this type of sexuality issue exists, it still seems unfathomable to believe.  It would be a huge mistake for anyone brave enough to attend to off-handedly dismiss the plot as ridiculous, because that is not the issue.  There are many poignant issues covered in this dense, thoughtful and hugely entertaining piece of theatre.  And Mobtown handles the entire thing with sensitivity, urgency and their typical edginess.

Willis and her team have created a terrific, symbolic staging, mixing realistic movement with highly stylized and theatrical settings. Set designer Patrick Kerns has, with a small wall piece, a hanging window frame, a few pieces of furniture and a large shelving unit, created a visual symbol of the lives which we are about to bear witness.  He suggests modern thoughtfulness and order, the perfect antithesis to the action about to ensue.  Similarly, light designer Bob Dover uses his instruments to suggest an equally arty, almost dream-like quality as each act begins and ends, lending a near mythical quality to the images, and sound designer Carlos Guillen has selected entirely appropriate and witty music to comment on the play as well.  Ms. Willis, though, has the most to be commended for.  Under her direction, this marvelous play is taught with tension, crisp and energetic, and always mindful that the audience will be bringing a lot of polarizing baggage with them.  Under lesser hands, this easily could play like a sitcom then turn into an ugly soap opera.  She has guided this Baltimore premiere with a sure hand and has selected a near perfect cast to bring this cautionary tale to life.

The four member cast is uniformly excellent, never indulging in scenery chewing (this play could easily tempt an actor to do so) and usually going for the underplaying of emotions, which builds the tension and keeps it from becoming completely absurd.  Each also, no matter how hard it is to believe, truly believes what their character is going through.  Without that earnest belief, this would be a bust. 

In the smallest of the roles, Michael Coene, as the son Billy, might in any other play have "the issue of the play" resting squarely on his shoulders.  You see, Billy is an out and proud 17 year old gay youth, struggling with the issues all 17 year olds face along with the added burden of homosexuality.  Albee, having bigger fish to fry, treats this like it should be treated – like one aspect of some people's lives.  It is no big deal – Billy's parents and friends accept him.  In this world, Billy is an example of a boundary that is beyond the norm, but totally acceptable.  To his credit, Mr. Coene never resorts to the easy portrayal of a gay teen – there is not a lisp, swish of the wrist or reference to a Broadway musical to be found.  As it turns out, Billy is a part of a rather shocking admission (for me it was more disturbing than the main conflict, mainly because it is more believable and ultimately more unsettling), but you will have to see that for yourself.  In another supporting role, Mobtown regular Mark Squirek has a rather meaty role (and by far the best I've seen him do) of best friend and subsequent revealer of truths.  His hilarious incredulity in act one is a great counterpoint to his very real anger and sense of duty to do the right thing in spite of the heavy price he must pay in act two.  Squirek's delivery throughout is razor-sharp and his is an enjoyable turn to watch.

As the main characters Martin and Stevie, the almost impossibly happy couple, Michael Sullivan and Vicki Margolis are superb.  Sullivan's conviction and belief that he has found a love he never knew he needed is so real and heart-breaking you almost forget the scandalous circumstances.  His torment is palpable, and his own inability to come to terms with the consequences of his actions is both infuriating and understandable.  Ms. Margolis plays her role so well you can't help but sympathize with her anguish as the perfect world she felt safe in comes crumbling down around her.  The bubbling volcano that simmers just underneath as she tries valiantly to understand that her life will never be the same is agony to watch, and when she finally lets it go it is a relief for everyone in the room.  Both actors are brilliant in these deep, heartfelt portrayals.  If there is any fault with any of the performances, each of the four actors occasionally mumbles lines or adds a "whatever" in places that would suggest an incomplete grasp on the lines or being so overcome with emotion that they are at a loss for words, which may not at all be the case, but rather an attempt to "casualize."  Either way, it doesn't hold true to the rest of this otherwise top-notch performance.

Albee is smart, one of theatre's true geniuses.  He knows that homosexual themes, extra-marital affairs and even hints at incest have little or no shock value these days (sad, but true), and so to make larger points about pushing acceptable human boundaries and the deep quagmire that human sexuality is, he had to create a nearly fantastic, fable-like (though still possible) situation to make us further think about what we can accept from each other and to question when love may not be enough.  To that end, Albee has created a brilliant work, and Mobtown has proven again that it can handle just about anything.

 

PHOTO: (L) Michael Sullivan and (R) Vicki Margolis in The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.  Courtesy of Mobtown Players.