I Used to Write on Walls: The Rippling Mr. Talented

Bekah Brunstetter's new play I Used to Write On Walls is billed as an "anti-romantic comedy".  This is a good term for it, since though it is very funny, it's terribly unromantic.

Three normal stable women all fall for the same callow surfer dude, and he ends up breaking their hearts.  First there's Diane (Maggie Hamilton), an overweight cop who gains the respect of Trevor (Jeff Berg) by allowing him to draw a wave on a wall with chalk.  Then there's cosmetics-loving Joanne (Darcie Champagne), who is sleeping with Trevor but really just wants someone to remember her birthday.  Then there's also Georgia (Levita Shaurice), a slam poet, who is also sleeping with Trevor.

Why an unemployed drifter who smokes pot, can't remember anything, and is an ephemeral graffiti artist attracts all of them is something of a mystery.  Certainly, as played by Mr. Berg, he's very handsome, and takes his shirt off frequently to expose his rippling abs; his childlike sense of fun, devotion to God, and the "rad, philosophical journey" that he's on make him superficially attractive, but in the end he's a user who doesn't really give himself to anyone.

In a parallel story, there's Anna (Chelsey Shannon), an 11-year-old girl, and her mother (Rachel Dorfman), who have a benign Snow White thing going on- her mother is envious of her daughter's beauty.  Anna wants nothing more than to finally menstruate (menstruation is a big theme in this play- it's mentioned in nearly every scene in the first act).  Diane's mother (Mary Round) also makes a brief appearance, as does an insane middle-aged would-be dominatrix named Mona (Ellen David).

The play seems to reinforce the stereotype that women need men to feel complete; all of the female characters aside from the 11-year-old have all their energies tied up in wanting men. 

The scenes between the women are the most interesting.  The one time Diane and Joanne meet and Joanne gives her a makeover in the park, and the moments between Diane and her mother and Anna and her mother all sparkle.  In the scenes with Trevor, the more irresponsible and callous he was revealed to be, the more I wanted to go all Jerry Springer and shout "Drop that Zero and get yourself a Hero!".  Which is not to say that the play is uninteresting; on the contrary, though I disagreed with the character's choices, I went with them on the ride.  Bekah Brunstetter's use of language is exquisite; her dialogue sings and expresses character with telling detail.  Georgia's slam poetry is a highlight as well.  The plot sometimes meanders, but it ends up where it needs to go.

The cast is great, especially Maggie Hamilton as Diane, who inhabits every moment with a powerful honesty; hers is the character you want to win.  Jeff Berg is perfectly addle-pated as Trevor, throwing out stoner exclamations, existing in his own little world.  Darcie Champagne is sweet as Joanne, though her character shifts abruptly early in the play from comic to pathetic.  Levita Shaurice is everyone's beat poet- a mouthpiece for the put-upon.  Chelsey Shannon is never saccharine as Anna- her sight gag that opens the play is perfectly realized.  Rachel Dorfman's character veers between touchingly real and more stylized lines with aplomb.
Mary Round has one wonderful scene- I wish there had been more of her.  Ellen David only has one scene as Mona, as well- in her case treading the line between Carol Channing funny and Michael Masden terrifying- it's a powerful but very odd scene.

The set, by April Bartlett, is fascinating and beautifully evocative, and Candice Thompson's costumes are great.  Randy Garcia's music is nicely tied to each character.  The co-direction by Diana Basmajian and Isaac Byrne is clear and focused.

Working Man's Clothes Productions has delivered another powerful show.

I Used to Write on Walls
Gene Frankel Theatre Underground
24 Bond Street between Lafayette & Bowery
Trains: B,D,F,V to Broadway/Lafayette or 6 to Bleecker St.

Limited Engagement: Oct 11 to Oct 27, 2007.
Thursdays-Saturdays @ 8pm.

Tickets: $15. To purchase call 212-868-4444 or visit http://www.SmartTix.com.
Mature and violent content.

Photos: Jeff Berg and Darcie Champagne; Maggie Hamilton

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