Reviewed 9/17/04
by Yasmina Reza as translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Robyn Allen
The Algonquin Theater Company
The West Valley Art Museum, Surprise
(602) 547-8920
September 17th - October 3rd, 2004
$18.00 - $20.00
The good news is that The Algonquin Theater Company is back. A company that was generally consistent and often inventive returns from their collateral crushing by the closure of Theater Works’ space has found a new, if not exactly ideal home at The West Valley Art Museum. Though the perfect setting for Yasmina Reza’s study of human nature as reflected by Art, the seating arrangements on the flat central gallery floor lead to difficult sight lines. Still, even this potential problem for height-challenged audience members does not stop the excitement of seeing this ensemble reform. The company’s first production for their return shows a bit of rustiness, however, as one strong performance is balanced by one pretty good offering and one that seems to have come from another play entirely.
The long term friendship of the trio of Marc (John Sankovich), Serge (Ron Hunting), and Yvan (Bruce Halperin) is shaken to its core when Serge spends a shocking amount for a piece of 70s modern art that is best described as shades of white. More than just a study on taste, this is a dissection on the nature of friendships and how the people within perceive themselves and each other.
Hunting’s excellent platform and fabric backed set and expressive lights are a minimalist canvas of well chosen elements that becomes the canvas upon which talented Director Robyn Allen creates stage pictures that mirror the ever-changing allegiances and confrontations. The pacing is well timed and the movement is constant. Rarely does anyone stay in one place for long, and this frenzied shifting keeps this potentially talking-heads style play from becoming static.
Hunting’s Serge is a matter-of-fact creation, completely realistic and able to capture the nuances of the characters impulsive leap into the speculative world of art collecting. He is able to capture the many emotions the resulting conflicts.
Sankovich, however, seems a bit more façadal, stuck in self-righteous sneer mode a bit more than his pompous Marc should be. Few can toss a withering comment with the toothy finesse of Sankovich, but his moments of sharing with the audience are not contemplatively genuine enough to allow us to see his side of this multi-hued story. With a too-constant self-importance, the character’s viable position becomes more unreasonable. There’s little chance to warm up to this basically cool character, and this shifts the balance of the ensemble.
Halperin is a natural comic cutup and seems perfectly suited for the simpering Yvan. However, on opening night, the presentational nervousness brought forth by Halperin and his constant leanings toward the audience broke the balance between onstage discussion and internal monologue crucial to establishing the three-front battle in which Yvan is a neutral in the middle. Halperin kept nervously glancing into the audience and seemed overwhelmed by the line load. His weaknesses did not ruin the show, but kept it from rising as high as it could have gone.
There’s always a chance that during the run, these inconsistencies will smooth out, but even as it is, this Art is still an interesting production that heralds the return of an excellent company from the brink and hints of even greater things to come.
