Review: GODS & MONSTERS at New Conservatory Theatre Center

Gods & Monsters

Based on the novel by Christopher Bram

Written and Adapted by Tom Mullen

Directed by M. Graham Smith

New Conservatory Theatre Center

There’s a fissure in the thick concrete backstage wall of Maya Linke’s set design through which a cascade of haunting memories flood into the ailing filmmaker James Whale’s last days. The Frankenstein and Showboat director, now a faded Hollywood relic, suffers a stroke leaving him with odor-evoked autobiographical memory, where smells trigger flashbacks to his troubled past. Based on Christopher Bram’s novel Father of Frankenstein, and the 1998 Bill Condon film Gods & Mosnters,  Tom Mullen’s adaptation expands on Whale’s reflections on his youth, the horrors of war and being a gay man in 1930’s Hollywood. Mullen’s deeply emotional treatment, M. Graham Smith’s insightful direction and a superb cast helmed by Donald Currie as Whale make this production a highlight of the new Spring season.

Currie has a tough assignment here – Whale is drowning in an ‘electrical storm’ of memories, some beautiful like a WWI lover killed in action, his hateful father who tries to squash the young boys joy and creativity, to gossip about Hollywood’s seamy gay underground. Forcing an all-too-eager reporter to strip during an interview is one of Whale’s last joys. Overcome with nostalgia and confronted with a new obsession in the form of handsome gardener Clay Boone, Whale devises one last insidious drama. Currie delivers a powerful performance, gaining our sympathy and reminding us of the costs of hiding in the closet.

Francine Torres is superb as Whale’s longtime caretaker, a religious Latina who accepts Whale’s debauchery. She initially thinks Boone, played with naïve machoism by Jason M. Blackwell, is just another trick and they have a contentious relationship. Boone rants on about race issues, seeing Frankenstein as a ‘colored’ man oppressed by whitey. The two will bond over their joint status as outsiders. Tyler Aquallo has a juicy role as the gay reporter and Ryan Lee is David Lewis, Whale’s ex partner.

Boone develops a respect for Whale, eventually baring himself for a self-portrait to appease his friend. With his ‘diversions’ abandoning him, Whale is desperate and brings up the issue of mercy killing. Suicide is too tame, not cinematic enough, he wants Boone to strangle him, turning Boone into a monster. It’s a deeply sad moment, highlighted by the excellent lighting by Justin A. Partier and sound design by Lana Palmer. Whale, who created a misunderstood monster in Frankenstein, cannot create another in Boone. The three main characters, one gay, one Latina, one Black, all have trouble with self-actualization, a timeless cautionary tale beautifully imagined.

Gods & Monsters continues through April 5th. Tickets are available at 415-861-8972 or online at nctcsf.org

Photo credits: Lois Tema