Hell is mediocre theatre...
"No Exit" at Planet Earth
** (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin
(w) 965-1021  (h) 894-5443
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu

	Hell is a tacky sitting room where three people wait out 
eternity at each other's throats, according to Jean Paul Sartre's 
play, No Exit. Written in 1946, this long one-act play has become 
one of the cornerstones of the modern, avant garde theatre. Sartre 
took the gothic notions of hell, a fiery world filled with hot 
pokers, rats and pitchfork-wielding demons, and substituted it 
with a sparsely and tastelessly furnished parlor holding the most 
insidious form of torture, being forever trapped with two other 
people who are perfectly chosen to drive you crazy. Sartre's 
negative view of social morals, liasons and relationships is best 
summed up when the only man trapped in the room with two women 
shouts "Hell is other people!" This statement has echoed through 
the post-WWII world, and its sentiment has held true to this very 
day, making this play as worthy a script to produce as any 
contemporary piece.
	Sadly, Sartre's play is rarely put on these days, save for 
occasional college productions and the reading lists of academics. 
Despite it's simple set and limited cast, it is a difficult script 
for any company to mount for several reasons. It is a talkative 
piece filled with reminiscences and observations of a world the 
audience can not see. The delivery of this intense text, filled 
with many psychological layers, is difficult for even gifted 
actors. Above all, it depends on the talent of three top notch 
performers to establish the wordplay and head games that go on in 
this hellish torture chamber of a sitting room. I was happy to 
hear that Planet Earth Multicultural Theatre was taking the 
challenge, for this company has presented great productions of 
difficult plays in the past. Unfortunately, while there are a 
couple of interesting moments near the end of the evening, this 
production, directed by Suzette Hunt, almost completely fails to 
pull off any of the scripts demanding requirements.
	The biggest problem this production faces is the miscasting 
of all three major roles. They are too young, and never seem able 
to play more than just their representative emotion, rather than 
adjusting and changing with their motivations. 
	Garcin, the plays spiritual center, is written as an arrogant 
and pompous journalist who is at once enticing yet repulsive. Rick 
Tobin's portrayal of Garcin is never layered, and often he sounds 
more like he's trying to remember his lines then realize the 
emotional power of them. As the needy and manipulative Estelle, 
Victoria Hunt is never more than a purring kitten or wounded 
child, looking to lure Garcin into her games of dominance and 
submission. Marginally better throughout than the other two, Laura 
Hanna plays more of the range of emotions in Inez, the lesbian 
postal clerk who has designs on Estelle, but she is never quite 
powerful enough to become as menacing as her character is written. 
She also seems very awkward physically, and by the end, she jerks 
around the stage, raising her voice rather than the emotional 
stakes.
	Despite this, and the questionable use of some of the musical 
interludes, there are some points where the show manages to 'catch 
the moment.' Ms. Hunt's direction, after the first grueling 45 
minutes of the play, makes choices that are at once odd and 
adventurous. In the middle of the hour and forty minute play, 
which is performed without intermission, Inez begins to dance 
behind and with the desperately reminiscing Estelle, seducing her 
throughout to a Janis Joplin tune. The movement is fluid and wild, 
and both actresses were absorbed and unashamed in this pretty 
graphic scene. The play begins ascending to its climax with this 
interesting theatrical moment. A little later on, loosened by this 
physicalization in the midst of all of the talking, Estelle and 
Garcin begin to realistically couple, while the scorned Inez 
denounces Garcin to make him stop. The sex scene is obvious, and 
becomes campy, an unexpected and welcome choice. I commend such 
direction, and only wish more had occurred prior. Choosing 
campiness is more interesting than just posturing.
	The rare production of a worthy script as difficult as No 
Exit is impressive in its own right, and I commend Planet Earth 
Theatre for it's effort. By the end, the script does manage to 
rise above the problems of the production. Sartre fans may find a 
few interesting twists near the end of this classic, but, 
unfortunately, there are just not enough connections made to 
interest the general public.

Production Details:
No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre
Planet Earth Multi-cultural Theatre
909 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix
241-1828
$9 General, $7 Students
May 19-June 11, Fri-Sun, 8 p.m.

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