REVIEW: Months On End at Baltimore's Spotlighters Theatre

In presenting Craig Pospisil's comedy MONTHS ON END, the Spotlighters Theatre Company is to be applauded for continuing its tradition of presenting new works by unknown playwrights. The design team is also to be commended for so wisely choosing a minimalist approach so as to unclutter the view of what is most important to this play – the relationships between the characters. Area theatre-goers should also keep their eye out for two young actresses who deliver nicely layered performances: Kristen Zwobot and Tiffany James. Further kudos are due to the two directors of the piece, Bob Russell and Shane Logue for recognizing that the play – to quote their program note – "is way more than fluff."

 

The play's main conceit is that we are watching a significant event for each month in a year in the life of 10 New Yorkers who are either friends or relatives or both. From the opening scene, it becomes quickly apparent that these people cling to the clichés they frequently spout out, often with the tone of someone who actually believes their fortune cookie fortune. In fact, everything about this play wears cliché on its sleeves: in words ("I love you. I'm just not in love with you."), in relationships (the central family has one sibling who achieves, one who doesn't; a gay best friend), and in situations (a May graduation, a June wedding). Of course, clichés are both a comfort and a trap, with one often being caught between the comfort of the status quo and the wanting of more from life. Here's where the subtext ("more than fluff") should have kicked in, filling in the blanks – why are these people friends? why is it ok for one character to have an affair with a married man, while the married woman, who is also having an affair, is chastised for it? why do the men, even in scenes where only they appear, seem secondary? why should we care about any of them? 

 

The biggest problem here is that the actors assembled onstage show little, if any chemistry, and with exactly zero of the attitude, sense of pride and zest for life real New Yorkers have. All the set ups for friends being friends (a baseball game, guys hanging out at the beach) simply fall flat for the lack of spark between these people. It speaks volumes about this production that three of the most interesting characters - Jenna, a blind date, Nina, a soon to be ex-wife, and Wade, a now deceased lifelong friend – are also the only ones unseen. What is not said here is the most telling – rarely do the characters show each other how they really feel (again, the potentially rich subtext has gone un-mined). What is unseen is the most vivid – the argument that causes the newlywed bride to leave her Beatles obsessed husband must have been a doozy and sounded much more interesting than the ten minute scene we did see, where the husband searches for a missing piece of his Yellow Submarine while droning in a monotone to his equally emotionless friend. (Increasing the volume doesn't necessarily make you sound more angry, scared or believeable.)

 

Not saying anything at all says the most, and the four times that there were brief moments of silence hinted at the subtext and chemistry ("more than fluff") that the directors promised us was there. Those four moments said more about the character and plot than the rest of the 2 hours of frenetic line spewing surrounding them. (In real life, we pause between sentences.) Two of those moments of silence – Chris, father of the bride, watching his daughter primp in the mirror with a mixture of melancholy, happiness and relief, and a meaningful pause and catch of the voice during a rehearsal of a painful eulogy by Ben, the new groom – revealed the most depth and again, the most potential for something deep from either actor (Jonathan Claiborne and Greg Freitag, respectively). Unfortunately, just when it looked like the male characters might have more to contribute, they immediately lapsed back into arms flailing and a monotonous delivery. (It is not natural to punctuate every syllable with an arm, leg or head gesture.)

 

The play comes alive during "March" when Paige (Tiffany James) takes the stage as the girlfriend who turns down a wedding proposal. She gives a real, funny, and most importantly layered performance. There is a lot going on inside Paige, and her inner conflict is apparent and makes her instantly interesting. Even more remarkable is that this performance is delivered while sharing the stage with Nick, a guy with the personality of cardboard (Tony Hodge, really playing 3 different Nicks to ill-effect). Later, there is an almost palpable sense of relief for Paige, when you realize the bullet she dodged. Nick, it turns out, is apparently stuck in his teen years, either ogling bikini clad babes, or being a whiny, annoying jerk to his older brother. 

 

"May" also gives a glimpse of what might have been during Heidi's (Kristen Zwobot) hilarious and though-provoking graduation speech gone awry. In a moment of vulnerability, she tries frantically (and yet subtly) to keep it together after dropping her unnumbered cards, and it is clear that this actress understands her character and the subtext of the play. It is only when she goes into angry stand-up comic mode (clearly she was directed to do this) that she plays for laughs more than for reality, the one slight misstep in an otherwise smart interpretation. Miss Zwobot's ability to mine gold from the smallest of details later becomes clear when she lovingly helps her bride-to-be sister apply lipstick and then playfully tackles her to get a garter on her thigh.

 

The lack of set and prudent use of a few small set pieces serve the play well, as do the costumes (though advertising the play we are watching on the back of baseball jerseys is dangerously close to shameless self-promotion). The lighting, apparently, could only be all the way on or all the way off, which is problematic in that the lighting, in absence of set should have provided a clear time, place and focus. This was particularly noticeable during an outdoor night scene, played under the same light as the daytime beach scene. Lastly, in what could have been a poignant way of tying the scenes together – the end of scene tableaus staged just before each blackout, instead came across as a clunky reminder of the lack of chemistry between characters – they all look so oddly uncomfortable near to each other (particularly long-married Gwen (Ann Marie Feild, looking uncomfortable from her first entrance through the curtain call)and Chris) – and was ultimately heavy handed. That staging technique ended up having the opposite effect. Instead of getting something from them, one started to look forward to the center stage freeze as a signal that another month was past. Much like tearing the page off a calendar, I felt the simultaneous regret of another month unfulfilled, and the relief that I made it through another one.

 

MONTHS ON END continues at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theater at

817 St. Paul Street

in Baltimore, Maryland through February 4^th. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM. Tickets are $15.00.

 

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