by
Herbert M. Simpson
Kenneth Lonergan’s involving, small-scale play at Geva’s Nextstage
is called Lobby Hero. It’s set in the
lobby of a New York City apartment building, where three men and a woman
struggle with their conflicting efforts to behave like a hero. So, heroism,
or at least each character’s concept of what
constitutes admirable behavior, seems to be the central theme. Or is it?
Jeff, a
wisecracking security guard, tries to find order and sense in his feckless
life, spent mostly in rebellion against his father, a former Navy hero who
became a drunken has-been. William, his security crew “Captain,” is a
buttoned-up, punctilious martinet. Bill, an admired, macho police officer, is
trainer and role model for his rookie partner, a petite, defensive woman named
Dawn. They all think they know right from wrong, until their interaction brings
complications.
Bill is married,
but visits an accommodating woman on the eighth floor — a fact Jeff spills to
Dawn while flirting with her. William congratulates himself for never deviating
from truth and duty, but is tempted to do both when his brother is arrested on
a murder charge, possibly unjustly. Dawn, who is just another notch on Officer
Bill’s much-employed nightstick, justifiably feels abused, but she needs his
support in defense of a charge that she used excessive force against a man who
attacked her. And Jeff is loyal to William, but tempted to tell Officer Dawn
that William is covering for his brother.
So we get
conflicts. Officer Bill, grandstanding as helpful hero, tries to bury the case
against William’s brother, but he may compromise his reputation in the process.
William, always unbending, may have betrayed his principles out of concern for
his brother. Despite Jeff’s goodwill toward everyone, he betrays loyalties
through his sense of duty. And Dawn, who wants to do good and help victims,
betrays and uses Jeff.
My problem with
all these neat conflicts is the self-delusion of the characters, which amounts
to virtual hypocrisy. They all strike poses continually. Dawn is practically a
poster-girl for victimization, but she manages to make use of everyone she
meets, without regard for how she might harm them. Bill, who sees himself as an
asset to the community, talks a good game about loyalty and sticking together,
while simultaneously blackmailing his partner into submission, committing adultery
multiple times, and bending the law. William sounds like a ranting drill
sergeant, but his constant claims of righteousness cover his lying, his devious
tactics, and his bullying of his underling. And poor, would-be good-guy Jeff
can’t keep his mouth shut and stop interfering in every life he encounters.
Also, Jeff’s tentative, romantic ending with Dawn seems forced.
So maybe the
drama is really about trying to find values while dealing with everyday
weaknesses. Or, more likely, maybe all this playing around just presents some
very real people in an intriguing lobby scene. What playwright Lonergan excels
at is not intellectual structure, but scene-making. He writes bright, vivid
dialogue that builds funny, touching acting scenes that any actor could pick up
and immediately want to play. The characters come alive in the script, and
Geva’s vibrant production makes them dynamic on stage.
Skip Greer
directs a young, attractive cast with unflagging energy and revealing movement.
Rob Koharchik’s elaborate, realistic set presents an urban lobby with an
elevator, security doors, and a brick building across the street. As lit by
Kendall Smith, it is handsome and evocative and shows what the small Nextstage
can achieve.
Lucas Papaelias,
a recent graduate of SUNY-Geneseo’s theater program, dominates the big set with
impressive, natural ease. His Jeff is quirky, scruffy, and ultimately very
empathetic. Though Rodney Hicks does occasionally look too much like a young,
handsome leading man for a character part, he manages to be amusingly stiff and
pompous as William and still make us care for the man’s dilemma.
Morgan Davis is
mostly just adorable in Act I, but her Dawn earns our sympathy in the second
act, and develops a potent emotional charge in her final confrontation with
Bill. Big, handsome Coleman Zeigen has the physical authority for Officer
Bill’s initial swaggering, but he also adds some subtle suggestions of
vulnerability, even boyishness, in the character to modify what otherwise could
be an entirely unlikable, or even oafish, stereotype.
This lobby is
worth hanging out in.
Lobby Hero,by
Kenneth Lonergan, directed by Skip Greer, plays on The Nextstage at Geva
Theatre Center, 75 Woodbury Boulevard, through Sunday, April 6. Performances
are Tuesdays-Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and
Sundays at 3 p.m. Tix: $12-$25. 232-4382, www.gevatheatre.org.
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2003.
