Review: FAST COMPANY: The Art of the Con

Fast Company

Written by Carla Ching, Directed by M. Bevin O'Gara; Scenic Design, Cameron Anderson; Costume Design, Tyler Kinney; Lighting Design, Annie Wiegand; Sound Design and Original Music, Arshan Gailus; Projection Design, Garrett Herzig; Magic Consultant, Evan Northrup; Fight Choreographer, Brandon G. Green; Dialect Coach, Christine Hamel; Production Stage Manager, Nerys Powell; Assistant Stage Manager, Bridget Anderson

CAST (in order of appearance): Theresa Nguyen, Michael Hisamoto, Tyler Simahk, Lin-Ann Ching Kocar

Performances through March 27 at Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com

Fast Company by Carla Ching at the Lyric Stage Company is described as a theatrical crime caper, but its exploration of a major con gone wrong is the conceit used to dig into the dynamics of the family Kwan. Mama grifter and her three baby grifters are hoping to score big with a superb knockoff of a purloined copy of the original Superman comic book, but one member of the crew breaks ranks to get himself out of a jam, and the ensuing cleanup of his mess tests the strength of sibling loyalty. Following the plot twists is a bit like keeping track of the pea under the thimble in a shell game, but you'll be fine as long as you keep your hand on your wallet.

Mabel Kwan (Lin-Ann Ching Kocar) is the matriarch of this family of con artists. She raised her children to be self-reliant, endowing them with the capacity to survive on the mean streets by withholding the usual motherly love and affection. Instead, when they were just children, she abandoned each of them individually in different New York City locales with the instruction to find their way home to Queens. The boys, Francis (Tyler Simahk) and H (Michael Hisamoto), were resourceful enough to get home quickly, but the lone girl, Blue (Theresa Nguyen), took three days to get back and never talked about her trial. Interestingly, mother never asked, but hoped it might discourage Blue from getting into "the life."

Well, as it turns out, that didn't happen. College student Blue is the one who is really jazzed by the adrenaline rush of successfully pulling off a con and is the mastermind behind the comic book caper. Her biggest mistake is relying on H to be her "fixer," but she learns too late that he conned her. She seeks advice from big brother Francis, a master pickpocket and card trickster who has walked away from the family business, practicing magic on television instead. Although he is reluctant to get back in the game, Francis agrees to help Blue by calling in the big gun: Mabel. She is master of the craft, but inviting her involvement means preparing to be belittled. It also means a power struggle, but Blue manages to maintain the role of "inside man" to pull off the con. Or does she?

The fun of Fast Company is in watching the plotting and execution of the con, seeing the "mark" take the bait, and waiting for the other shoe to drop. By contrast, the characters and their relationships are less compelling, perhaps owing to their being less developed than the detailed schemes they devise. The actors do what they can to get inside the characters, but they're a little flat as Ching has not written them with three dimensionality. Quite often they tell us something about themselves, rather than showing us in an organic fashion. For example, Francis protests that he needs to walk away because he doesn't like what being a con artist does to him, but we don't know what that looks like. H is labeled as being less-skilled than his brother, yet he puts it over on Blue who has basically been mentored by Francis. As baby sister, Blue takes a lot of verbal abuse and is harshly judged by the others, but she may actually be the smartest, albeit less experienced.

M. Bevin O'Gara is making her Lyric Stage directing debut and does a fine job with the pacing and blocking the action on the thrust stage, as well as employing two small spaces above the set on either side. Cameron Anderson's scenic design works well as backdrop for Garrett Herzig's projections that provide the terminology of the con artist to help us keep up with what's going on. Annie Wiegand's lighting design adds to the dramatic effect and Tyler Kinney's costume designs distinguish the characters personalities. Whenever the scenes change, Arshan Gailus fills the time with wonderful music and drum beats evocative of film noir soundtracks. Magic Consultant Evan Northrup instructed Simahk in the fine art of legerdemain and the infamous Houdini-esque water chamber escape.

This is the fourth production of Ching's play which continues to evolve. At a talkback after the press opening, she referred to a new ending being performed at the Lyric. Not wanting to spoil the outcome, let me just say that it comes across as rather pat, feeling tacked on to tie up loose threads, but without enough foundation to make it credible. Although a reversal of fortune can lead to a major change of attitude, this one feels forced. Fast Company is a fun ride while the cons are on, but slows considerably when it's all about the Kwans.

Photo credit: Mark S. Howard (Michael Hisamoto, Tyler Simahk, Theresa Nguyen, Lin-Ann Ching Kocar)

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