Review - Starting Here, Starting Now

Welcome to Showtime, my new little corner table of the blogosphere. But I'm not the only one with a new blog. David Mamet has one, too, and no, you don't have to turn off your Safe Search to log on. Actually, it's a blog written in the point of view of President Charles H.P. Smith, the character played by Nathan Lane in Mamet's new play, November, including such nuggets of political wisdom as, "America has trusted old white males for over 200 years. Why stop now?" (Not a bad campaign slogan for Mike Huckabee, I'd say.)

Anyway, let's get this new endeavor started with some glowing words about a terrific play that may have slipped beneath your radar...

In a season that's brought us The Grinch, two singing Frankenstein's monsters and Rose Hovick , the most horrifying creature to be seen on a New York stage is Jack Henry, the semi-fictional center of playwright/actor Bo Eason's solo play, Runt Of The Litter, an outstanding evening of theatre that reveals with frankness and honesty the brutal nature of one of America's most popular family pastimes.

Most days Jack is a likable guy, admirably driven to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming a professional football player despite his comparatively small size and lack of natural athleticism. But on game days Jack must adjust his mindset to become a merciless, unforgiving human missile whose job is to ram his helmeted head into the ribs of his opponents, making unflinching contact at speeds of up to 25mph. In order to succeed, he must be willing to risk hospitalizing any member of the other team without any regard for the damage he's doing to his own body in the process. And eighty thousand fans shell out big bucks to cheer him on.

Having spent five seasons playing pro ball before knee injuries forced him into retirement, Eason neither condemns nor glorifies the violent nature of the sport where the average life expectancy of a pro player is only 55 (A doctor treating young Jack for his first knee injury advises him that he can either play pro football or live to see his grandchildren.) and it's that unemotional and unapologetic depiction of the hard facts that makes Runt Of The Litter so dramatically gripping.

The play is set in the locker room of Jack's Houston Oilers before and after a playoff game where the winning team will go to the Super Bowl. Jack plays safety for the Oilers, which is the last line of defense an opposing player must get through in order to score. Not blessed with the talent to win games, Jack uses grit and acquired fearlessness to stop the other guy from winning. The quarterback for the opposing New England Patriots is Jack's athletically gifted older brother, Charlie, a character based on Eason's older brother who led the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory in '86. The two of them grew up with a father who pushed them both to be the best, knowing it would take far more work for the smaller one, and a mother raised on football who could find every opposing player's weakness. This will be the first time the two would ever take the field on opposing sides and even though Jack grew up idolizing his brother, who always stood by him, in a frightening pre-game pep talk, he assures his teammates that he'd be willing to let his brother's blood spill for the team's sake. He doesn't like having to feel that way, but it's the only way he can accomplish what he is trusted to do. Soon after, with the stage empty, we hear the sounds of the game; men inflicting intense pain on each other with a happy crowd cheering in the background. What's often dramatized as a glorious battle now seems barbaric; even more so when Eason re-enters to tell the story of the game's outcome.

Director Larry Moss has Eason in nearly a constant state of movement throughout the play, taking advantage of his quick reactions and nimble-footedness. The star's writing and performing may not be considered the stuff of great theatre out of context, but they're both exactly what is needed for the piece; he's an ex-football player telling a story in his own words, making the evening thick with authenticity and real-life drama.

Bo Eason may not have had the football career his brother enjoyed, but he's scored big time Off-Broadway.

Photo of Bo Eason by Joan Marcus

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