Reviewed 6/3/05
Homophobia is not a patently modern American phenomenon. Save
for some eras when it was an accepted social choice or a tolerated twist,
most civilizations have had it in for those who enjoy the love that dare
not speak its name. Though a homosexual himself, Christopher Marlowe did
not mind including a little gay bashing when he wrote a play of the infamous
history of England’s queenliest King, Edward II. Nearly Naked
Theatre’s Artistic Director Damon Dering has decided to set the record straight (as
it were) by offering his take on Kit Marlowe’s vision with E2:
A Heretical Adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward
the Second. Among the elements
of Dering’s work that make this heretical are his choice to cut and
paste Marlowe’s text willy-nilly, to cast only Edward (Scott
Dillon)
and his love Gaveston (David Ojala) as men while giving the remaining roles
to women (ostensibly to set the men apart in a disapproving world), and to
toss in modern versions of Elizabethan asides that are as prescient as they
are crass. Dering’s script and direction is rife with symbolism, and
the world he creates for Edward and his narrating Gaveston is as full of
sex as an episode of Desperate Housewives.
There’s a great concept within the allusions, pronouncements, and dry humping, but there’s also something a bit Planet Earth-y about turning Edward the Second into a piece edging toward a gay fantasia. Just as Peter and Mollie Cirino leaned toward shock over substance, there’s a whiff of intent that hovers over Dering’s content. His script is an amalgam of styles and inconsistencies that a few drafts should smooth out, and his direction finds every excuse to show flesh, mostly within reason but once or twice gratuitously. Some moments drag, some of the litany of characters the actors play become unrecognizable from one another, but there are several moments that absolutely sparkle, such as when Edward eloquently pines for his exiled Gaveston while Gaveston cavorts on the bed with a bunch of boy-toys on Edward’s tab, or when Mortimer (Andrea Dovner) and Edward’s discarded Queen Isabella (Heather Harper) conspire in a large bed with the Countess of Warwick (Tracy Dugger), the Earl of Lancaster (Annie Erickson), and one of the many Bishops (I lost track) played by Joy Strimple to rid England of Gaveston. With work, this has the potential to become a great script.
That’s not to take away from Dering’s current
production. The show that trots across Michael Peck’s ineffectively
structured set has several bright spots. Dillon’s Edward is a deep
creation, emotionally and intellectually committed to every moment he is
onstage. Ojala’s Gaveston flits back and forth between misunderstood
lover and thwarted gold-digger, flattening his role with shallower flamboyant
moments. Harper’s Isabella is two parts flayed to one part mischievous,
admirably working through one of the most obscure moments onstage when she
literally cracks a few eggs to get what she wants. Dovner’s Mortimer
is a low key offering, manly without being butch. The remainder of the ensemble
has weak parts and strong, with some able to differentiate their characters
and others unable to bring differences to their charges.
Peck’s platform set is unnecessarily raised and features an appropriate giant bed that mechanically moves forward and back for no observable reason. Erik Michael’s lighting has some interesting effects when actors are able to find their marks. Dering’s costume design is a mixed affair, excellently chosen for Dillon, Ojala, and Harper, but atrocious for the remaining ensemble, uniformly comprising of a boy’s middle school outfit of black pants, blue button down shirts and ties and inexplicable high-heeled women’s boots. An occasional sash or jacket is meant to differentiate characters, but doesn’t help.
Dering is trying here, and I encourage pushing the envelope. However, with experimentation come mistakes as well as successes. There’s a fair balance of both in E2. With the help of a Dramaturg and perhaps an outside director (since I can tell you from personal experience that a playwright should never direct his own work), there should be life for this script beyond its current mounting.
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