Review: Theatre UCF's '(a love story)' is an Entertaining Modern Take on Classic Tragedy

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." For many, those words are the definition of what a love story should be about. However, in Theatre UCF's play "(a love story)," which runs through March 1st, three intertwining tales chronicle all of the fevered, messy emotions involved with falling in, and out, of love. The highly-stylized play casts a disapproving eye on love in the modern world, all the while casing the storytelling in the trappings of a classic tragedy. Playwright Kelly Lusk occasionally uses the familiar structure to illuminate the universality of love, but more often than not, he allows it to run roughshod over the story being told, robbing it of any genuine emotion. Nonetheless, Theatre UCF's production is marked with uniformly impressive performances and thrilling production design; reaffirming why Central Florida's colleges provide some of the best, cutting-edge theatre in the region.

"(a love story)" is narrated by an often silly take on the classic Greek Chorus (Tyler Beauregard, John Michael McDonald, and Danielle Miller). The trio provides commentary and punctuation on the action, and occasionally interacts with different characters (sometime s in the form of anthropomorphic plants). The device, which starts as a whimsical nod to the early days of the art form, quickly becomes one of many pretentious hurdles that the show cannot clear, despite how entertaining these three often are.

The play's first half-an-hour sets up a story that appears to be aiming to challenge your heart and your mind. However, when Miller's Girl tells Emily (one of the show's star-crossed characters) that love almost always ends badly, it becomes clear that the show has a different intended target, your stomach and your resolve. With one jarring visual after another; from multiple simulated sex acts, to regular displays of physical violence, it often felt that they were included to shock and titillate, rather than to inform and develop. Due to that disconnect, I quickly lost faith in the journey that Lusk was leading me on.

On its surface, that journey seems very much like the tragedies of Euripides or Shakespeare; interwoven stories of people fighting against fate to find happiness and normalcy. Teenager Emily, played by senior Jasmine Mitchell, has fallen in love with neighborhood bad boy Richard (senior Jesse Hinton). Richard however, does not approve of her gay best friend David, played by senior Salvatore Vieira. As Emily distances herself from David, he begins a relationship with Greg (senior Isaac Rossi). Greg's father died in a gas station robbery five years ago, leaving his widow Anne (played by graduate student Maddie Tarbox) too afraid to leave the house, so she instead begins writing online erotic fiction; which leads to her connecting with Jack (played by grad student Eric Eichenlaub).

While I don't want to delve too deeply into spoilers beyond the vague description of calling "(a love story)" a tragedy, let me just say that Chekov would approve of one major plot point.

As I said above, the students, under the direction of Mark Routheir, were all extremely strong in their roles; some out of pitch singing notwithstanding. They convincingly committed to characters that seemed devoid of logic; and not in a plausible "crazy in love" way. For example, numerous times in dire situations, characters forgot about the cell phones that they used just a few scenes previous. That being typed, the students made the show entertaining, and at times compelling, even when the material didn't warrant it.

Lusk's show was part of Orlando Shakespeare's new play series, Playfest!, in 2013, and I would assume that this is an updated version of the script. However, at two-and-a-half hours and with countless disjointed character motivations, Lusk needs to shave even more from around the edges to get the most out of the promising bones of "(a love story)." At its core, this play has the potential to be extremely impactful, but with too much focus on spectacle, and not enough on character, the show's tragedies just don't seem that tragic.

In addition to the stellar cast, another reason that "(a love story)" deserves an audience is the fantastic design work. From Chris McKinney's multi-layered and multi-purpose set, to Alex Anderson's subtle, but nuanced lighting, to Tara Kromer's sound design, which set the stage as the audience entered, all of the show's technical aspects were exemplary.

Despite a rocky script, Theatre UCF's "(a love story)," running through March 1st, delivers an entertaining and thought-provoking evening of theatre. If you can stomach irrational characters and disturbing content, I recommend you check it out. To purchase tickets, visit their website or call 407-823-1500.

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Did "(a love story)" break your heart, or did it miss its mark? Did I miss the point of the modern-tragedy? Let me know in the comments below, or by "Liking" and following BWW Orlando on Facebook and Twitter using the buttons below. You can also chat with me about the show on Twitter @BWWMatt.

Photo Credit:
1) Cast of "(a love story)" | Theatre UCF
2) John Michael McDonald, Tyler Beauregard, Danielle Miller | Theatre UCF
3) Jesse Hinton | Theatre UCF