Fun with Dirty Talk

Few plays start off with a bang the way The Dirty Talk… does.  The Dirty Talk… written by Michael Puzzo and directed by Padraic Lillis opens up with instant action literally throwing the two main characters into the face of any theater-goer.  The audience is immediately granted access to the inside track of logical, illogical and emotionally charged arguments that maintain a steady flow of humor.  Only five minutes into the production, the audience can tell that The Dirty Talk... is a play well worth seeing.

 

The play opens with Mitch (Sidney Williams) stomping through the door of a cabin wreaking havoc on an umbrella.  With his clothes visibly soaked, Mitch does nothing to hold back his frustration regarding the current situation.  Although the audience has no previous knowledge of the back story, they know it can't be good as Mitch smashes an apparently useless umbrella to pieces, all while shouting obscenities to further prove the situation is not good.   Soon thereafter, play-goers learn that Mitch and his "cabin mate" Lino (Kevin Cristaldi) are stranded for the duration of a rain storm in a cabin in the woods.  The car is useless with a flooded engine and broken windshield wipers, continuing to confirm that Mitch and Lino find themselves in a "less then optimal" predicament. The two men instantly have different takes on the situation.  Lino tries to use logic and make the best of it, while Mitch is uninterested in hearing anything positive about the night which in his mind, suddenly turned sour.  The audience can tell that Lino and Mitch aren't friends by the way Mitch consistently fires back in response to Lino.  He is actually out-right mean to Lino, providing cutting remark after cutting remark as if to put him in his place.  However, no matter how mean the comments get, Mitch seems to make a conscious effort to keep his comments peppered of "playful" sarcasm as if to provide an element of levity in everything he says.  While serious and insulting with his remarks, it also could seem that Mitch tries to keep from being a complete jerk to him.  The juxtaposition of the relationship leaves audiences guessing about the dynamic – is Lino an acquaintance or whipping boy for Mitch?      

 
Little by little, the audience learns why the atmosphere is filled with hostility along with a touch of sympathy.  Mitch, a recently divorced man re-entering the dating field, innocently found his way into an online chat room.  In the chat room, Mitch finds his ideal rebound girl – perfect measurements, comfortable with her sexuality.  As the "dirty talk" ensues, Mitch and his luscious blond arrange to meet at the cabin.  However, Mitch is met with more of a surprise than he could dream when his fantasy girl turns out to not be a woman at all, but Lino instead.  What would at first sound like a romantic evening in a log cabin secluded in the woods during a rain storm, has now turned into a nightmare.

 

The anger and frustration Mitch portrayed in the beginning of the show now makes sense.  The audience feels bad for Mitch about his divorce and now empathizes with the current situation.  His outbursts of mean comments to Lino suddenly make sense – he was lied to at an extremely vulnerable time.  While Mitch can only focus on how pathetic the situation is, Lino instead yearns to know why they can't recapture the trust and openness they shared over the computer. 

 

At first, Mitch's argument seems bullet proof.  Why should he try to foster the open relationship with Lino when there was never any honesty involved to begin with?  However, when Mitch accuses Lino of lying, Lino counters back with that he "created" instead.  At this point the balance begins to shift, slowly doing the unthinkable by adding credence to Lino's belief that he was right for what he did; that his "creation" justified the outcome and helped Mitch recognize what went wrong in his marriage.  With the shield of online anonymity, each could be what the other one needed – open and if necessary, shallow, to achieve what each other wanted. 

 
The Dirty Talk…conjures up a situation that many hope they will never encounter, but in reality easily could.  It playfully examines the way this relatively new means of communication can break boundaries that before never really seemed possible.  Mitch is reluctant to accept this point.  In fact, early on in the production, he insists that Lino hide behind a dresser in order to not see him when they speak.  While Mitch rationalizes this instruction due to the fact he "can't stand" Lino at the moment, it also obviously helps to emulate an instant messaging situation.  When Mitch doesn't see Lino, the conversations start to make more sense and Mitch begins to again open up and see things with a new perspective.  

The Dirty Talk…is an overall exceptional play that effortlessly wraps a serious storyline around healthy and frequent doses of belly-aching humor.  Laurels are given to the entire production, from the actors, Kevin Cristaldi and Sidney Williams to the writer Michael Puzzo to the Padraic Lillis as the director.  Bravo!  The Dirty Talk…is playing at the Center Stage Theater at 48 West 21^st Streetat 8pm through February 4^th.  Please call 212-352-3101 for tickets.

Pictures courtesy of The Dirty Talk...
Left to Right: Mitch (Sidney Williams) and Lino (Kevin Cristaldi) try to make the best of the situation.
Left to Right: Mitch (Sidney Williams) and Lino (Kevin Cristaldi) try to converse without arguing

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