Art Stripped Naked: Father Knows Best
Hyde Park Theatre, through Sept. 29
Running Time: 1 hr, 35 min
Wayne Alan Brenner’s comedy of the relationship between a father and son — augmented by an ongoing discourse of the nature of art — is both sweet and simple, with a heartwarming twist. Brenner, whose name readers may recognize from the Chronicle‘s masthead, is a writer with a gentle touch, viewing humanity with a kindly eye and a wry smile. All this works to make Art Stripped Naked a nice little show, well presented by the Hyde Park Theatre.
In fact, this is the inaugural production of Hyde Park Theatre — essentially the marriage of Frontera@Hyde Park Theatre and Subterranean Theatre Company — with former STC Artistic Director Ken Webster taking the reins of this revamped entity. The same solid theatre crafted by Webster at STC is present here, as he neatly directs the four-person ensemble. In a play as wordy as this, there isn’t much cause for movement; the play’s action is in the dialogue. Webster keeps things simple, and this works in the play’s favor.
Given the play’s reliance on language, then, its success rests on the ability of its ensemble to create interesting characters with whom the audience can sympathize. And that is this production’s greatest strength. Judson L. Jones plays the son, Art, an aspiring artist who cares about, and is infuriated by, his father, Eddie. Jones balances slight seething impatience, angry outbursts of filial frustration, and genuine affection as he tries to communicate with his dad. Jenni Rall plays Holly, Art’s ex-girlfriend, who has her own unique conversation going with Eddie. Rall infuses her portrayal with kindness when dealing with Eddie, mixed with just a trace of vulnerability when turning to matters more personal. Greg Gondek plays delivery boy Dennis with an engaging combination of confusion and defiance. The play’s anchor is Eddie, a man who uses language with exacting, sometimes excruciating, specificity. David Jones turns this into comic pay dirt almost every time he speaks. The initial appearance that Eddie is some crotchety old guy prone to eccentricities in his speech is quickly dispelled in favor of Jones’ much more interesting, layered performance, showing off Eddie’s intellectual prowess, as well as his generosity to all comers. The actor’s expressive abilities are ably highlighted where a particular look carries as much meaning as his lofty language. In dealing with son Art, David Jones humorously and playfully manipulates the feisty Judson L. Jones, while always ensuring that the love between father and son is conspicuous, just under the surface.
The play definitely improves as it progresses, with the opening expositional scenes not so interesting as what follows. The lengthy scene in the second act between Eddie and Dennis, while amusing, falls well short of bravura. It works as a little play within the play: warm and heartfelt, but does little to move the story along. And there is no comedic mileage in repeating the play’s title over 20 times in the course of the (relatively short) evening. Paul Davis’ scene design is rather dull; the extreme distance between Eddie’s favorite chair and the other sittable — the ubiquitous sofa of the slice-of-life-theatre interior — creates a gulf between characters that makes it hard to keep two conversationalists in the same picture frame. Diane Morrison’s costumes delineate who’s who efficiently, but are probably too clean and pressed for the so-called working-class world these characters inhabit. Robert S. Fisher’s sound design is as light and good humored as Brenner’s text.
It’s a gentle evening on one’s senses — nothing particularly new is going on here. Rather, Art Stripped Naked provides the audience with the comfort of expectations met in a safe atmosphere. These are well-known, talented artists telling a simple story neatly and kindly.
This article appears in September 21 • 2001.