Review - The Wood: Tabloid Theatre

Tabloid theatre might be the best way of describing Dan Klores' The Wood, a drama that attempts hard-hitting, journalistic toughness in painting a somewhat nonobjective portrait of New York newspaper columnist Mike McAlary. The author delivers a lot of ink-stained passion in his tale of a local kid who grew up worshipping the likes of Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill before becoming one of Gotham's most prized newshounds - jumping between Newsday, The Post and The Daily News whenever one offered more money - but weak storytelling leaves too many holes in the narrative and broad-stroke writing gives most of the actors little more than clichés to portray.

Played by John Viscardi with the friendly authority of a blue-collar guy in a white-collar profession, The Wood, which gets it title from the slang term for the front page, covers the final years of McAlary's life, when he won a Pulitzer for his coverage of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima's accusation that, while in custody, he was sodomized with the handle of a bathroom plunger (later testifying that it was actually a broomstick) by police officer Justin Volpe.

Earning the prize may have cost him his life, though, as the author depicts the reporter regularly missing chemotherapy treatments for the colon cancer he would succumb to at age 41. Up until the Louima case, McAlary's name was most associated with an incident where his credibility was damaged while accusing an unnamed woman of lying about being raped in Prospect Park, an episode the playwright frequently alludes to, but never to the point where the facts could make his main character lose audience sympathy. (The play also mentions his shaky relationship with the NYPD, but doesn't go into detail about the story that caused it.) Instead, Klores has his hero facing the ultimate deadline in an attempt to make sure he's remembered as a journalistic hero.

While the author's terse, plot-driven style plays out like a theatrical news story when director David Bar Katz's production is at its best - mostly during narrative monologues where McAlary describes the cutthroat competitive nature of the newspaper business - scenes between actors suffer from lack of character development. Kim Director's concerned wife, Thomas Kopache's cautious editor and Michael Carlsen's hot-headed police officer are too-familiar two-dimensional types to occupy primary roles in a full-length drama.

The best written and acted moments of the evening come when Vladimir Versailles, as Louima, lies in his hospital bed, weakly and hesitantly giving his account of the incident as Viscardi's McAlary tries being patient and sympathetic as he anxiously jots down notes and asks questions, hungry for the opportunity to make front page headlines.

Those familiar with the case will anticipate the discovery of a blatant lie in Louima's story, but here it's treated as a bit of an afterthought, loosely connected with McAlary's experience in the Prospect Park rape case.

The McAlary/Louima relationship absolutely has the makings for a thrilling drama, but The Wood rarely approaches the story's potential.

Photos by Sandra Coudert: Top: John Viscardi; Bottom: John Viscardi and Vladimir Versailles.

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