Review: Theatre Artists Studio Presents AMERICAN MYTH

Embellish: Make a statement or story more interesting or entertaining by adding extra details, especially ones that are not true; make a fictitious addition, as to a factual statement.

Lie: Speaking untruthfully with the intent to mislead or deceive; to convey a false impression or practice deception.

What is the line, if it is at all fine, between the two ~ and should the act, in whichever form, forever influence one's perception and trust of the disseminator? Think George Washington who, for sure, did cut down a cherry tree; or Abe Lincoln who, for sure, must certainly have told a lie at some time; or Davy Crockett who, for sure, did not kill himself a b'ar when he was only three; or Bill Clinton who, for sure, did sleep with that woman. All survive as American heroes despite their lapses in truth.

Such are the questions at the heart of Christina Gorman's AMERICAN MYTH, on stage now at Theatre Artists Studio.

They are good and timely questions, as it seems that Americans have been doing a lot of soul-searching lately about the foundations of our society and institutions and leaders; the rules of the economic game; and the degree to which any one can be trusted. It seems, too, that, in the minds of many Americans, lying, cheating, and dissimulation have become something of an American pastime, with the only real sin being getting caught.

They are good and timely questions that would make for good theater in the hands of the right playwright. However, in Ms. Gorman's stab at the theme, the effort is skin-deep, with a plot line that, at times, defies credulity.

So, the challenge for director Robyn Allen is how to embellish ~ how to make lemonade out of lemon. Given the depth of her experience and the quality of her theatrical chops, she cuts deeper into the substance of the play, although not without some unavoidable pitfalls.

Professor Douglas Graham (stoically played by Steven Mastroieni) is a renowned specialist on American history ~ 1774-1826 ~ on the verge of receiving the Roosevelt Prize for his magnum opus. His fascination with the creation of the country is revealed in intermittent cuts to his lectures on Jefferson and Adams and the forging of the Declaration. It's a clever device that allows insight into the historical moment and the characters that molded it. It should as well provide a take on the teacher's charisma that inspires student adoration, but Mastroieni plays the role as if the professor is on autopilot, even when acting out Jefferson, Adams, or Hamilton.

Peter Finnerty (played by Tyler Gasper), one of Graham's former students and now a junior reporter for the lifestyle section of the local newspaper, has discovered flaws in his published profile of the professor. Flaws, embellishments, lies! Shared by the professor during recorded interviews. About his rank as a Boy Scout, service in Vietnam, participation in anti-war protests, etc. Of a magnitude meriting not only retraction but also the destruction of a career? That is the question! A young journalist's disbelief and disappointment would be understandable, but Gasper indulges in paroxysms that detract from the character's credibility. What's more are his frequent and unlikely intrusions at the Graham home and confrontations with Lanie, the professor's loyal ally and wife, movingly portrayed by Christi Sweeney. At bottom, he is relentless about exposing the liar.

Finnerty's revelations about Graham catapult him to the national news. Graham is disgraced, albeit he determinedly insists in a breathless moment of theater that "I am an honorable man."

At play's end, we may have some inkling of the forces that drive men and women (think Brian Williams!) to color their past a bit and to assume the risk of embellishment. The revelation comes in Graham's recitation of John Adams' words: "In addition to their natural inequalities of talent, birth and wealth, men contain a passion that resists equality. They simply do not want to be like all the others, but yearn for distinction." In the case of Douglas Graham, here was a man, like many others, who, beyond his existing distinction, was compelled to compose the uber man that he wanted himself to be.

Truth, justice, and the American way. Is this formulation the American myth? Is the American dream the American myth? If nothing else, AMERICAN MYTH provides food for thought at the after-theater coffee klatch.

AMERICAN MYTH runs through November 1st.

Photo credit to Mark Gluckman

To post a comment, you must register and login.