|
Popcorn
Theatre
Vertigo at the Russell Street Theatre
116
NE Russell St., 306-0870
8 pm Thursdays-Sundays
Closes Oct. 15
$10-$12
British
playwright Ben Elton is best known as the creator of the
BBC's Black Adder series, based on his novel of the
same title.
|
|
Butchered animal skins encase pillows backing two sectionals.
Behind these sofas stands a full bar complete with Campari
and, one supposes as it's currently fashionable, Blavod.
Between the sectionals is a large glass table with an Oscar
as centerpiece. On one edge of the glass is a smudge of
cocaine, while on another, nearest the television, is a
clot of brain. Welcome to Hollywood.
Ben Elton's excoriating satire, Popcorn, takes as
its premise the continuing argument in America over film
violence. The living room described above belongs to film
director Bruce Delamitri, an auteur of sensation, who has
just won an Academy Award for a little bloodbath called
Ordinary Americans. This film--a picaresque tale
of two psychopathic lovers on a killing spree--may sound
vaguely familiar: Elton's inspiration for the play was Oliver
Stone's Natural Born Killers, an intellectually dishonest
saturnalia of shock that inflamed conservative moralists.
But in Elton's world, two killers similar to the Ordinary
Americans duo crash the director's house and hold Delamitri
and his friends hostage until the press arrives. Once the
cameras are directed at the director, the killers demand
that he take full credit for their murders, as his films,
they've decided, are responsible for having warped them.
If he doesn't, then he'll become the next live television
death.
The ensuing debate hilariously follows the thinning thread
of the Hollywood violence argument that runs like an endless
clew through the land. But beware, Elton isn't providing
answers people want to hear. Like every good social satirist,
Elton places the blame fully on us, the gawking American
audience.
The myth is that Hollywood, through its love affair with
mayhem, adversely affects the culture at large. Yet if one
lives in a culture that rolls in blood like dogs, how else
should artists respond? The most powerful country on Earth
has successfully wedded arrogance and ignorance, and the
great symbol of our intellectual failure is the gun: a quick
and infantile response to every problem. Hollywood may be
a cesspool, but it's a reflective one. Elton, like most
foreigners, appreciates this.
Director Jeff Meyers has assembled a first-rate cast to
take on Elton's rapier-sharp play. Meyers avoids the typical
American response of "playing for laughs" to uncover the
ironic vein of rage that runs beneath the text. As Delamitri,
Ted Schulz is the perfect picture of the irresponsible and
self-deluded director. Deb Lund expertly underplays his
clawing socialite wife, Farrah, while Angie Lawless is excellent
as Velvet, the product of their union. Nanette Pettit's
Playboy model, Brooke, is also skillfully played
(without ruining the joke, her "one has stylists" line is
uproarious). As the murderers, Ben Plont and Laura Smith
put in their best work to date. Smith, in particular, has
become a very strong actor. As Scout, she brilliantly states
the playwright's case: "Half of America is living in Hell
for the entertainment of the other half."
So enjoy the slaughter. Here's your Diet Coke and an extra
pump of fat on your giant popcorn.
|
