FATHERS & SONS: 12 Characters in Search of a Father

Richard Hoehler's new play Fathers & Sons is billed as two actors playing variations on paternal relationships, but it is nothing so prosaic. Hoehler elevates what could have been merely a classroom acting exercise into art by exploring the true-life uneasily avuncular relationship between himself and his acting partner, Edwin Matos, Jr., and letting the audience see how that relationship informs each set of variations on the theme of fatherhood. Hoehler plays all the fathers and Matos plays all the sons, and they are a varied bunch- a stepfather trying to please a recalcitrant ghetto teenager, a college-age son who's ashamed of his father's poor English, a drama teacher who gets seduced by his younger student, and more. Along the way Hoehler and Matos break down each other's conceptions of each other- Hoehler an older, Gay, Jewish playwright/actor who fears this may be his last chance for a big break; Matos a young, Straight, Puerto Rican tenderfoot who hasn't had a chance for a big break yet- they are friends and intimates, but their relations are complicated by their unusual interactions, as each sees each other at times as the father/son he never really knew.

Hoehler lampshades the contrivance of the play at the beginning: and it is contrived, but at least it's well-contrived. The two always play characters with names that are variants on their own, and start with territory familiar to them- a pair who are both Puerto Rican (like Matos), a couple who are both Gay (like Hoehler), and proceed to dissect each other's real lives in the interstices. It's fascinating from a technical standpoint, though it keeps the script at the level of intriguing rather than moving. The two men are excellent actors, the writing gives them their tour-de-force opportunity, and they grab it and don't let go, but in emphasizing the excellent craft, they lose something of the feeling of the acting. Another minor issue is that the main story seems to end several times- just as the audience is ready to applaud, the show's not over and there's another scene.  And there's some confusion as to why Hoehler is apparently living in (and facing eviction from) the theater where they'lll be performing.

Still, it's a very interesting piece of work, well worth the time.

Fathers & Sons

The Lion at Theater Row

Show times are Wednesday-Saturday evenings at 8 PM with Sunday matinees at 3 PM.

Tickets, priced $25, are available through Ticket Central online at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling (212) 279-4200.