The race is on
Theater
“OK, so this is how it goes…or went,” says the protagonist
of This
Is How It Goes, a character simply credited as “Man.” Yes, by naming him Man, playwright
Neil LaBute is making him the every man, representing us in this story of
reunion, betrayal, sex, divorce, and race relations. Ah, these are the days of
our lives.
Man is a guy who doesn’t know exactly what he knows. He’s
telling the audience the story of his reunion with a high school crush, but he
can’t seem to get the details straight. The truth is in the story somewhere,
but Man’s skewed memory, biased point of view, or wishful thinking cloud it. In
the end, it’s left to the audience to search out the truth; “Decide for
yourselves how much is real,” instructs Man.
So, this is how it goes — the plot, that is: Man runs into
Belinda, a girl with whom he’s been madly in lust since high school. She’s
everything he remembers. And, with batting eyes, lingering glances, and
accidental touches, there is obvious flirtation.
Man has just moved back to his hometown after leaving his
life as a lawyer. Belinda is looking to rent out her garage apartment. The
perfect coincidence. The only unfortunate part for Man — the nerdy, fat kid
in high school — is that Belinda, the preppy, peppy little cheerleader,
married his nemesis, Cody, the popular jock. It’s when the two men become
reacquainted that the drama takes off.
Discussions of race relations are rarely comfortable. The
threat of being labeled racist hangs overhead, and the pressure to be
politically correct is almost crushing. But Man seems untouched by these
concerns. He approaches the subject head-on and with what he believes to be
humor. Although he claims to be “joking” each time a racist remark spews forth
from his lips, Man can’t seem to help himself.
Because Man’s view shapes the perspective of the play, Cody,
a successful black businessman and husband to the woman Man desires, becomes
the antagonist. Man understands Cody not as a person, but as a stereotype, the
angry black man. Man claims that Cody is constantly pulling the “ace of
spades,” the race card, in order to excuse shortcomings or gain advantage. As a
result, Man takes twisted pleasure in taunting Cody with epithets. You have to
wonder why Cody, an athletic and aggressive man, wouldn’t beat the
mother-lovin’ crap out of this scrawny white boy each time Man opens his
bigoted mouth. The question is definitively answered as the plot unfurls.
The frankness with which race is dealt will make some
audience members uncomfortable, almost to the point of squirming. Playwright
Neil LaBute has chosen not to shy away from the many levels of racism, ranging
from the “harmless” joke that may be passed between co-workers at the water
cooler to full-blown hate speech.
Mark D’Annunzio as Man creates a character that is,
strangely enough, likeable while at the same time despicable. As Belinda, Kara
Infantolino successfully fulfills the role of the once high school hottie
transformed into a desperate housewife. In their first interaction, D’Annunzio
and Infantolino are believably awkward, purposefully running over each other’s
lines and shuffling uncomfortably. However, when the duo interacts in sexually
charged scenes, the chemistry falls flat.
B. Anthony Gibson as Cody also creates a dual-natured
character, both attractive and repulsive. The proud varsity athlete still
exists in Cody, but his disenchantment has spread to every aspect of life. In
certain scenes, the tension Gibson portrays is palpable.
The set is sparse, and the choice is a good one. There is no
distraction from the issues that should be central in the audience’s mind.
Director Barbara K. Biddy has taken full advantage of the words that LaBute has
given her.
While Man is the narrator, the character who shapes and
orders the universe of the play, he is not the champion — just as Cody is not
the antagonist. In the end, the audience will walk out understanding each
character as a real, flawed human who is both hero and villain.
This
is How It Goes, through October 15 | Shipping Dock Theatre, 31 Prince Street |
Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays 2 p.m. | $12-$22 | 232-2250,
www.shippingdocktheatre.org.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2006.
