Actor's Theatre of Phoenix' Gun-Shy at The Herberger Theatre Center Stage West
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 5/1/99
(out of )Matthew Wiener and Actor's Theatre of Phoenix wind down their season with a light-hearted look at modern divorce with the play Gun-Shy, written by Richard Dresser, the author of last year's darkly hilarious production, Below the Belt. While the play contains nearly as many funny lines as Mr. Dresser's previous offering, it lacks much of the depth and bite. As a result, Gun-Shy is definitely a laugh riot, as long as you don't think too long on such formalities as plot and characters.
Recent divorcees Evie and Duncan are attempting to put their lives
back into order with new mates Carter and Caitlin. Evie is desperately
trying to form Carter into everything she wanted her ex-husband
to be in a very shrewish and controlling way, while Duncan is
pushing the younger, scattered, gun control-lobbyist Caitlin to
commit to something more than the affair that had started their
relationship. In the middle of all of this spirited-though-repetitious
bickering is Evie and Duncan's unseen son, Jack, who is the driving
force behind a bizarre plot to bring these four together in the
same city to help raise the troubled teen. While there are a lot
of funny lines and situations packed into the hundred minute-long
script, there are also some real textual problems and gaping plot
holes that make it hard for this reviewer to enjoy the show as
much as the howling audience around him: The script seems to be
more of an extended sitcom or Love Boat sketch than a fully-realized
full-length play.
Most of Mr. Wiener's direction probably helps avoid notice of
this, though, at least in the presentation of four of the five
performers. His pacing and blocking is tommy-gun fast, and the
clip of the show keeps the funny one-liners and situations rolling
without time to notice the vagaries of character, plot and follow-through.
He and Scenic Designer Jeff Thomson have devised a very
fitting and perceptive way to keep up the pace of this episodic
presentation through the use of modern-art motif flies for each
location, and furniture on casters that never lets the audience
take the time to think too much.
It's hard to differentiate between performance and textual difficulties.
Cathy Dresbach is brutally funny and reasonably hateful
as the self-centered Evie. Her me-first attitude comes across
well, although her subsequent reversals and realizations seem
too pat, although this is probably more the author's fault than
the actresses. As the Punch to her Judy, Nicolas Glaeser
is pure funny, over-the-top presentation, until he rightly grabs
onto the one juicy character moment that Mr. Dresser tosses to
him at the beginning of the second act, and he is finally able
to enter into a second and third dimension until the physical
comedy of his character begins again in earnest. Richard Glover
is the most downplayed as he portrays the former drunk Duncan,
but his slurred speech and slightly oafish presentation keep the
audience from truly embracing his character as the sympathetic
one among all of these oddball losers. Returning to ATP after
her wonderful portrayal of the title character in last season's
Sylvia, Christie Klein
is all surface in playing gun-control lobbyist and anorexic Caitlin.
Her absolutely plastic performance, though, is probably more authorial
skimping and directorial pacing than lack of acting depth, but
she comes across as Sarah Jessica Parker-lite. The best performance
comes from the man with the least amount of actual stage time:
Mark Collver impressively plays five different and differing
characters in a believable and enjoyable way.
Besides the ingenious and fitting scenic design, Paul A. Black's
lighting is also a great fit, as are Susan Johnson-Hood's
costumes and Cat Dragon's properties. Also effective is
Darin Stillman's Sound Design. The look of the show was
pure modernity, fitting the show's "less is more" ideal.
Despite all of my objections and dislikes, I must admit that I
laughed out loud many times, and found the situations and one-liners
just as enjoyable as I did shallow. Just because lack of depth
can be monotonous, it doesn't stop it from being hilarious all
at once. If you're looking for a few good belly laughs, without
the need for consistencies and plausibility, then this show is
for you.
Production Details:
Gun-Shy by Richard Dresser
Actor's Theatre of Phoenix
Herberger Theatre Center Stage West, Phoenix
(602) 252-8497
April 30 May 16, 1999