To bring a new life to an undiscovered, underground gem, Termination Productions LLC will present "The Head Hunter," a dramatic encounter between a screenwriter and his mobster cousin, Off-Broadway at The Dorothy Streslin Theater October 31 to November 28, 2015. The play is written by Mark Borkowski, a New York-based playwright, screenwriter and actor who is now best known for playing Paul Sagorsky in the third and fourth seasons of HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Richard Gekko directs. It is a revival of a horrific yet hilarious two-hander that Backstage (Elias Stimac) labeled "one of the best plays of 2000" when it debuted that year and which was showered with glowing web reviews during a modest resurrection in a studio theater last season.
In the play, Casmir, a screenwriter, has sold the exclusive rights of his screenplay to a sleazy Hollywood producer. He confesses what he has done to his cousin Salvatore, a hit man for the mob. The screenplay, a bio-pic, contains truths about Sal's father that are more then incriminating. Enraged, Salvatore vows to get the screenplay's rights back to Casmir even if it means eliminating the producer. The two cousins are forced to deal with issues that tore their family apart and drove them to be who they are: one an artist, the other a ruthless killer.
The play debuted Off-off Broadway 15 years ago to little notice. In its only review, Elias Stimac announced in Backstage, "The new year has barely begun, and already one of the best plays of 2000 has emerged on the New York theatre scene at The Common Basis Theatre. Mark Borkowski's 'The Head Hunter' is an intensely inventive and fiercely funny new drama which mixes shades of Shepard and Mamet while painting a horrific yet hilarious portrait of both modern-day mob life and the equally precarious film industry." He continued, "Borkowski fills his play with wicked twists and turns that catch viewers off-guard each step of the way. He also has an uncanny ear for dialogue, resulting in sly soliloquies and rapid-fire repartee." The review ended in a call for an extended stage run and an "inevitable big screen adaptation."
Termination Productions LLC produced a modest revival April 11 to May 4, 2014 at The Producers' Club Theaters, 358 West 44th Street, directed by Richard Gekko.
Alan Miller (A Seat on the Aisle) called the play "a very well well-written, gritty, black comedy" and urged his readers to see it, stating that the it deserves more attention. Larry Litt (New York Theatre Wire) explained the drama's appeal, writing, "What inspires 'The Head Hunter' into a different non-cliched gangster script is the neurotic tendencies and interpersonal confessions of two male cousins who populate a completely dysfunctional family of what should be very close and loving relatives. Therein lies the psychological tension and dramatic fascination of this uniquely disguised play. Because what's happening here is deception as an act of love. To witness [the] dominating mob persona Salvy lead his cousin Casmir, a screenwriter with film industry problems, is a joy to behold. Rarely do I see two male actors provoke each other into the life of their characters." He added, "This production is a revival and well worth the cast and directorial effort. I think you'll see gangster images in a new light from now on."
The play's popularity at the Producer's Club's studio theater last season inspired Termination Productions LLC to revisit it again this year with a new cast, this time as a small Off-Broadway production.
In this revival, Trenton Clark plays Cashmir, the writer. Jay Rivera plays Sal, the mobstah.
Playwright Mark Borkowski is now well-known to TV audiences as Paul Sagorsky, a drunken war veteran with a broken heart and a penchant for fighting, on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire." His playwriting career is not without note. "A Gravedigger's Tale" (Hudson Guild Theater, 2009) was published in Best One Acts of 2009 and "Don't Listen to What It Sounds Like" is published in Best One Acts of 2007, both issued by Smith & Krauss. Other NY productions include "The Daughters of Eve" (Cherry Lane
Studio Theatre), "The Mutilation of St. Barbara (
Gene Frankel Theatre), "Twilight's Child" (Playwright's Horizons), "Within the Skins of Saints" (Common Basis Theatre), "The Rude Man" (Kraine Theatre), "The Godling" and "The Shadow Keeper (Tribeca Lab). He grew up in Philadelphia, where his productions include "Suicide, Inc." at The Walnut St. Theatre. In Los Angeles, his "Lonely Vigil for a Stranger" ran at The Burbage Theatre, where LA Times heralded it "Fireworks and Poetry." He is the winner of the Playwrights Fellowship Award from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and The
Rod Serling Award for "The Godling." His screenplays include "The Perfect Witness" (First Look Studios), which is now available on Showtime and DVD. He has acted in the films "The Ungodly," "Mean Guy," "Cost of a Soul" and "Listen to Your Heart."
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