A Teeny Little Review: "Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them"
The Patti Report
Nicholas Brendon Play Review
January 30, 2010
“I’m a Porn-Again Christian.”
(Nicholas Brendon as ‘Reverend Mike’ in
“Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them”)
So, I have been wanting to see Nicholas Brendon (Xander on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") in one of the plays he's done and I keep missing them. This time, I got tickets for opening night! After a long series of misadventures, an hour and a half in heavy traffic, and one wedding, I finally got to the Stella Adler Theatre in Downtown Hollywood just in the nick (heh, get it, Nick?! OK, sorry, I love bad puns!) of time. The theatre itself was very small, maybe 100 seats, if that many, but it was full. Despite being almost-late, I got a seat in the second row, so I was very happy.
The play revolves around a young lady, Felicity, who awakens to find herself married after a night of drinking, to a stranger named Zamir. What follows is a farcical, absurdly funny tale with a sobering message about the dangers of extremism-*American* extremism, that is; our “Homeland Insecurity” as the play’s one-sheet reads-and the escalating problems that arise from jumping to conclusions when one does not have all the facts. Without revealing too much of this wonderful play, the plot follows along as Felicity tries to unravel how she wound up married (partially drunk, then Roofied) and how to get out of it (annulment), while trying to appease the wildly vacillating moods of her new husband (who freaks at the mention of annulment). Innocent speculation and overheard conversations by Felicty’s reactionary father and fellow members of a secret shadow government group, lead to torture, which in turn puts the country at the brink of global war. In a series of hilarious do-overs, the play resets itself to an earlier, kinder gentler time, soberly reminding us that in real life, we cannot do this, and why torture doesn’t help to ‘secure’ us as a nation. And despite the serious-sounding subject, it manages to do all this in a riotously entertaining manner.
Nicholas Brendan was wonderfully hilarious as the spaced-out, ex(?)-drugged-out hippie, Reverend Mike, the nebulously-ordained minister-slash-Porno flick director (!) who married the pair of would-be young people-at a Hooters. Wearing an oversized, animal print caftan and a macramé headband, Mr Brendon was delightfully “out there” as he tried to counsel the newly-married (by him) couple, bring peace to the insanity that is Felicity’s parents, counsel Zamir on how to appease his parole officer, and gain a new star for his upcoming porno movie. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance and it was fun to see Mr. Brendon performing live.
(a sneaky, crappy phone photo to show costume--please don't sue me, Blank Theatre Company!)
Also starring in the play was an amazing array of very famous (to me, anyway!) faces: Mike Genovese (a wonderful character actor who has been on just about every show there is, with a regular role on “Port Charles”) as Felicity’s “butterfly” collecting-but-actually-they’re-guns reactionary father, Christine Estabrook (another actor who’s been in just about everything, including a recurring role as Martha Huber on “Desperate Housewives”) as Felicity’s whacked-out mother (who wears the same dress in different colors to ‘match her mood’ each day); Catherine Hicks (who will always be whale biologist Gillian Taylor in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" for me!) as Hildegarde, an ‘operative’ for Father’s secret, shadowy group; and Alec Mapa (most recently, Suzuki St. Pierre in “Ugly Betty” and a zillion other credits) as virtually everyone else (this guy is talented in the extreme!!). The two lead characters were played by actors less familiar to me: Rhea Seehorn (Charlotte of “The Starter Wife” and an episode of Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”) as the confused and good-hearted Felicity; and relative newcomer Sunil Malhotra (whose credits include guest roles on various TV shows), who did a fine job in his role as the “It’s Irish!” Zamir.
The entire cast was fantastic and the play, written by Christopher Durang, was very capably directed by Daniel Henning. It was a wonderfully funny, absurdist romp, with a very sobering message, and I highly recommend it to anyone who might find themselves in the Los Angeles area between now and March 14th…though I suspect only those with an open mind and not-too-easily offended sensibilities will enjoy it most.
Bonus! Got to meet and greet after the play! Sadly it was a tad dark in the foyer...
(Nicholas Brendon and yer author)
...but the flash overcompensated and made things fuzzy--this one came out best.
Catherine Hicks
Peace
P :)
Nicholas Brendon Play Review
January 30, 2010
“I’m a Porn-Again Christian.”
(Nicholas Brendon as ‘Reverend Mike’ in
“Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them”)
So, I have been wanting to see Nicholas Brendon (Xander on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") in one of the plays he's done and I keep missing them. This time, I got tickets for opening night! After a long series of misadventures, an hour and a half in heavy traffic, and one wedding, I finally got to the Stella Adler Theatre in Downtown Hollywood just in the nick (heh, get it, Nick?! OK, sorry, I love bad puns!) of time. The theatre itself was very small, maybe 100 seats, if that many, but it was full. Despite being almost-late, I got a seat in the second row, so I was very happy.
The play revolves around a young lady, Felicity, who awakens to find herself married after a night of drinking, to a stranger named Zamir. What follows is a farcical, absurdly funny tale with a sobering message about the dangers of extremism-*American* extremism, that is; our “Homeland Insecurity” as the play’s one-sheet reads-and the escalating problems that arise from jumping to conclusions when one does not have all the facts. Without revealing too much of this wonderful play, the plot follows along as Felicity tries to unravel how she wound up married (partially drunk, then Roofied) and how to get out of it (annulment), while trying to appease the wildly vacillating moods of her new husband (who freaks at the mention of annulment). Innocent speculation and overheard conversations by Felicty’s reactionary father and fellow members of a secret shadow government group, lead to torture, which in turn puts the country at the brink of global war. In a series of hilarious do-overs, the play resets itself to an earlier, kinder gentler time, soberly reminding us that in real life, we cannot do this, and why torture doesn’t help to ‘secure’ us as a nation. And despite the serious-sounding subject, it manages to do all this in a riotously entertaining manner.
Nicholas Brendan was wonderfully hilarious as the spaced-out, ex(?)-drugged-out hippie, Reverend Mike, the nebulously-ordained minister-slash-Porno flick director (!) who married the pair of would-be young people-at a Hooters. Wearing an oversized, animal print caftan and a macramé headband, Mr Brendon was delightfully “out there” as he tried to counsel the newly-married (by him) couple, bring peace to the insanity that is Felicity’s parents, counsel Zamir on how to appease his parole officer, and gain a new star for his upcoming porno movie. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance and it was fun to see Mr. Brendon performing live.
(a sneaky, crappy phone photo to show costume--please don't sue me, Blank Theatre Company!)
Also starring in the play was an amazing array of very famous (to me, anyway!) faces: Mike Genovese (a wonderful character actor who has been on just about every show there is, with a regular role on “Port Charles”) as Felicity’s “butterfly” collecting-but-actually-they’re-guns reactionary father, Christine Estabrook (another actor who’s been in just about everything, including a recurring role as Martha Huber on “Desperate Housewives”) as Felicity’s whacked-out mother (who wears the same dress in different colors to ‘match her mood’ each day); Catherine Hicks (who will always be whale biologist Gillian Taylor in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" for me!) as Hildegarde, an ‘operative’ for Father’s secret, shadowy group; and Alec Mapa (most recently, Suzuki St. Pierre in “Ugly Betty” and a zillion other credits) as virtually everyone else (this guy is talented in the extreme!!). The two lead characters were played by actors less familiar to me: Rhea Seehorn (Charlotte of “The Starter Wife” and an episode of Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”) as the confused and good-hearted Felicity; and relative newcomer Sunil Malhotra (whose credits include guest roles on various TV shows), who did a fine job in his role as the “It’s Irish!” Zamir.
The entire cast was fantastic and the play, written by Christopher Durang, was very capably directed by Daniel Henning. It was a wonderfully funny, absurdist romp, with a very sobering message, and I highly recommend it to anyone who might find themselves in the Los Angeles area between now and March 14th…though I suspect only those with an open mind and not-too-easily offended sensibilities will enjoy it most.
Bonus! Got to meet and greet after the play! Sadly it was a tad dark in the foyer...
(Nicholas Brendon and yer author)
...but the flash overcompensated and made things fuzzy--this one came out best.
Catherine Hicks
Peace
P :)