Recreation
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A Currican/Playful Prods. presentation of a play in one act by Penn Jillette. Directed by Mike Wills.
Cast: Dean Bradshaw (James Ewing), Kelly McShain (Amber, others), Andrew Totolos (DeeJay, others). Known as the tall one who does the talking in the magic team of Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette has created a darkly entertaining first play called Recreation about a man whose mind, in the presence of naked flesh at a strip joint, wanders to scenes of sado-masochistic violence. The character, a New York writer described as a dreamer, is in Memphis, where he has just appeared on a TV talkshow defending violence in the media as a good thing. For recreation, he visits a strip joint where he gets chatty with one of the dancers. In a wonderful bit of theatricality, their whispering is broadcast to the audience over loudspeakers, a device at once jarring and extremely intimate. When the dancer goes off to perform or circulate among the other customers, the writer, who has behaved like a pussycat, drifts into reveries full of cruelty and torture. Jillette has made clear that his point is to distinguish between a persons actions (which are in the social realm and rightfully subject to some control) and his thoughts (which are nobodys business).
By extension, art should be free of the restraints placed on real action. The writers daydreams have the same tone of casual violence one finds in Penn & Tellers magic act, yet theyre not completely devoid of love. A couple of kidnappers in the first sequence clearly have a strong affection for one another , and the two scientists in the second scene definitely love their work, and the woman in the third reverie loves her car. Dean Bradshaw is perfectly nonchalant as the dreamer, and highly dramatic as both victim and victimizer in the fantasies. Andrew Totolos is also fine in his varied fantasy roles, and Kelly McShain is excellent. Director Mike Wills moves the play forward confidently, not afraid to let it meander and able to snap it back when called for. He gets strong support from Mark Symczak, whose black box set blossoms neatly into a car , and Andrew S. Keister and Michael Gottlieb, who provide the engrossing sound and light.Cast: Dean Bradshaw (James Ewing), Kelly McShain (Amber, others), Andrew Totolos (DeeJay, others). Known as the tall one who does the talking in the magic team of Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette has created a darkly entertaining first play called Recreation about a man whose mind, in the presence of naked flesh at a strip joint, wanders to scenes of sado-masochistic violence. The character, a New York writer described as a dreamer, is in Memphis, where he has just appeared on a TV talkshow defending violence in the media as a good thing. For recreation, he visits a strip joint where he gets chatty with one of the dancers. In a wonderful bit of theatricality, their whispering is broadcast to the audience over loudspeakers, a device at once jarring and extremely intimate. When the dancer goes off to perform or circulate among the other customers, the writer, who has behaved like a pussycat, drifts into reveries full of cruelty and torture. Jillette has made clear that his point is to distinguish between a persons actions (which are in the social realm and rightfully subject to some control) and his thoughts (which are nobodys business).
Set, Mark Symczak; lighting, Michael Gottlieb; sound, Andrew S. Keister; casting, Charles Rosen Casting; stage manager, David A. Winitsky. Artistic director, Andrew Miller. Opened Oct. 17, 1996, at Currican Theater. Reviewed Oct. 28; 70 seats; $ 15 top. Running time: 1 HOUR, 30 MIN.
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