BECKETT'S PLAYS 'ENDGAME' and 'PLAY' ARE NOW ON THE A.C.T. STAGE. SCROLL DOWN
Photo: SF Playhouse Courtesy.
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| Rod Gnapp (Carmichael) is mad as hell - and he's going to blow you up |
A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE
O.K. HERE’S THE DEAL. In a Hotel Room is a rugged leather
faced guy who seems as if he is completely drained of any pep. He is just
sitting on the edge of the bed looking at his left hand that is severed. Then
all of a sudden the man gets up. He hears a noise in the closet of his room. He
opens the door of the closet and shoots at someone or something. It only took
two bullets to make it quiet in there. The man sits on the edge of the bed
again, just like nothing happened.
Christopher Walken, the actor, played the one-handed creepy
guy (in New York) who is looking for his hand. When he was seventeen some young
Hillbillies from the other side of the tracks grabbed the young man. A Train
was coming down the track – the whistle was blowing as the hillbillies held the
young guys hand on the railing. He lost his left hand.
The Author Martin McDonagh is known for his macabre stories.
On the SF Playhouse stage we have Rod Gnapp as the creepy sinister guy. And
Carmichael (Gnapp) has never forgotten his, forever-lost hand. But he is still
looking. So much so that he buys hands from corpse dealers in Alleys and from
young kids that try to sell a hand to the lonely Carmichael. He says: “All I
want is my hand. Those damn hillbillies even had the nerve to wave my own hand
at me. Can you believe it? -- They waved my own hand at me.”
In his plain hotel room, Carmichael runs across a couple of
scammers. They are trying to sell him a black man’s hand. Tsk, Tsk! They made a
huge mistake. Carmichael who is white, is enraged – so he ties them to the
radiator. Then he lights a candle in the top of a Gasoline Can. He leaves – and
they are trapped. “The candle will only last about 45 minutes, he tells them.
Then – if you don’t find my hand – you’re going to blow up” – he furiously
sez.”
This play is so kinky (and also fantastically funny) – the
racist remarks between Carmichael and the Black kid and his White Girlfriend
are extremely funny. Also on the
stage is one of the funniest deadpan and creepy actors I have ever seen. His
name is Alex Hurt and he is terrific. Then we have Rod Gnapp – surely the most
sensational actor in the world. And of course we had to let Daveed Diggs and
Melissa Quine get free from the Radiator. So – you see, we didn’t lose that
benefit. They are still alive. And the shot in the closet – Well, you’ll just
have to figure that one out yourself. I will tell you this though. These
sensational actors are the best acting ensemble that I have seen in decades.
Enjoy this irresistible classic thriller at the San
Francisco Playhouse.
RATING: FOUR GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE!!!! (highest rating)
–trademarked-
(((Lee Hartgrave has contributed many articles to the San
Francisco Chronicle Sunday Datebook and he produced and hosted a long-running
Arts Segment on PBS KQED)))
BECKETTS ENDGAME and PLAY
It’s not secret. Beckett’s plays are dreary. That doesn’t
mean that they aren’t any good – but they do put you in the mood to jump off
the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Curtain goes up and we see two small windows high up on
the walls. Curtains cover the windows. Two ashbins are covered with sheets. In
the center of the room there is a chair that is also covered with an old sheet.
Under the sheet is “Hamm”. Clov has many motionless moments.
Finally he takes a ladder and climbs up to the Windows to let some light come
in.
Yes, there are many yawns and pauses in Becketts plays.
Expect sparse talk. Hamm (Bill Irwin), the grouchy old bastard sits and groans. He never
gets up – he depends on Clov(the servant) to do everything for him. Clov removes Hamm’s
sheet. Hamm yawns, takes off his glasses, wipes them and then puts them back
on. Not too exciting – but the mystery of all this does keep your interest.
Hamm says to Clov – “You pollute the air!” There is another
long pause. Hamm says to Clov(Nick Gabriel) – “Get me ready, I’m going to bed.” Clov answers
– “I’ve just got up”. O.K. – I think you get the drift. Their conversation,
which is almost non-existent – makes you want to push the old nasty fart right
out of his chair. And so it goes. On and on and on.
Hamm’s elderly parents are in the ashbins, where they are
confined. Nagg says, “Kiss Me!” Nell: - “We can’t”. Why? - Because their heads
fail to meet. They are close, but not close enough.
Hamm takes lots of painkillers. I wish that he had given me
some. In the small Beckett play before Endgame is “Play” that stars Annie
Purcell, Anthony Fusco and Rene Augesen. There dead - Ya know! Yep, they must
be dead because they seem to be trapped in huge funeral Urns. The characters
bicker back and forth. It reminds a little of “No Exit”. Well, you wouldn’t
want to miss this absurdist clipped conversation, would you? Can we put a lid
on the urns? However, there is great atmosphere on the stage.
Love this comment: “Can there be misery loftier than mine?”
No Mr. Beckett – there can’t be.
The sets are a wonder. Sparse, but fascinating. The dreary
look keeps you in a dreamy state – and the acting is absolutely amazing. Their
timing is perfection. And as was said in Endgame – “I haven’t suffered too
much!”
THE ACTORS IN ‘PLAY’ are Rene Augesin, Anthony Fusco and
Annie Purcell. In ‘Play’ they taunt us with a primal feeling of death.
THE ACTORS OF ‘ENDGAME’ ARE: - Nick Gabriel, Giles Havergal,
Bill Irwin and Barbara Oliver. I marvel at their genius --
and, the knockout directing, by Carey Perloff.
NOW PLAYING AT A.C.T.
Hamm and Clov in Beckett play
Photo- Kevin Berne
RATING: TWO GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE!! –trademarked-
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