Grand Possibilities


Reviewed 2/18/06

For the Phoenix theatre community, storefront theatres have traditionally been snakebit. 1121 and The Space are heading the way of Gallery X and Planet Earth. More often than not, the smaller companies that have tried to work in them have depended on the kindness of larger companies and their spaces, or they’ve simply wandered the desert. Things are looking up. First, the oddity of Desert Rose Theatre, Mesa’s classical theatre next to a Carnicería, and now a cabaret in the burgeoning Grand Avenue Arts District, Artist Theatre Project’s Soul Invictus. It’s the kind of theatre I’ve dreamed of for this town: low- and high-brow, too arty for it’s own good yet featuring an assortment of wood and metal chairs, couches, and strange sculptures. Before the show, you can get a discount from the Paisley Violin next door. You enter through an art gallery beneath a giant Bush-bashing billboard, exit the back of the building, and then head into a former garage. Then you can sit and watch @PRO mount the eclectic, the cutting edge, and the just plain weird. For most cities, this is old hat. Here, it’s a blessing.

They break the hymen of their space with a classic of modern drama, Edward Albee’s angst-ridden The Zoo Story. Anyone who knows the story of Jerry and the Dog will tell you that it’s a fun show to sit through and still has a bit of a bite. Though it’s a classic, director Sandy Leon and performers James Asimenios and Brian Klein aren’t going where everyone’s gone before, and that’s why this show is a must-see. Where most see the uptight Peter (Asimenios) as a passive twit and Jerry (Klein) as a creepy perv, Leon and her cast have made these two the meeting of Norm from Cheers and the dad of My Three Sons. It’s brilliant, it’s theatrical, and it shines a new light on the nearly 50 year-old (can it really be that old?) script.

Klein is almost adorable in portraying Jerry’s inability to connect with the world around him. He’s jocular, even jovial, and those who have not experienced the script before can easily misconstrue his distraction. He’s almost totally non-threatening, or threatening only in the way that an obnoxious uncle might be. It’s a revelatory choice.

Asimenios has a role that most are afraid of: the listener. When a character is more about reacting than acting, most performers shut off. Not so Asimenios. I like to watch the people who are not talking to see if they’ve dropped character. Not once did I see Peter disappear from his bench, and that’s a sign of someone who gets their job. When the time comes for Peter to wrest control of the action, it is smoothly accomplished and powerfully handled.

Leon’s blocking is big. She doesn’t let her Jerry sit, but there’s no point where he seems to be wandering the stage. Every broad move is justified and character driven. She uses little choices that make big payoffs, such as entrances and exits. With little to work with, she makes the most.