BWW Reviews: I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT Favors Melodrama Over Nuance

New York based theatre company Ego Actus is staging the world premiere of award-winning playwright Penny Jackson's I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT at The Lion Theatre. The play is a thought provoking cautionary tale that explores the seedy underbelly of cell phone camera surveillance and how once something is shared online, it never truly goes away. However, in spite of the intriguing premise, there are some missteps that weaken the power of the play in performance.

Having taught junior high in a suburban area, I've seen students grapple first hand with the negative consequences of either personally sharing or having someone else share risqué to pornographic photos and videos online that would make their parents ashamed. There is definitely a need for art that speaks to this issue and can engender conversation; yet, I found that Jackson's I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT passed over nuance and utilized melodrama, creating a play that feels like an after-school special.

In the writing, Vicky Walker-the lead character-lacks agency over her sexuality, which would add layers of nuance to the character and the situation she is in. As the plot unfolds, we learn that she was drugged and drunk when she engaged in the sexual activity that was both recorded and published without her consent. Luckily, she is not victim shamed by the writing. But, I really feel the script could be far more poignant if the character willingly engaged in the sexual behavior and maybe even its recording. That would leave the publishing of the video to be done without her consent, making the experience in the play more closely mirror the real life stories that get people thinking. Also, this would allow Jackson to positively assert that women can be and, more importantly, should be empowered to own their sexuality without being condemned by society.

Likewise, the play's climatic moments see Vicky enacting revenge against the show's villain in a bodily and physical way. She records the moments on his cell phone and posts the video online. Later, when she relates her triumph to her mother, she is encouraged to break his phone. She does so by throwing it down and repeatedly jumping on the device. When I saw the show, these actions elicited cheers from a handful of people in the audience, but they left me feeling empty. The show's villain, Oliver Bourne, is a brainy, incorrigible snake of a human. He schemes and plots with ease, so it would be more satisfying to see him bested through a ruse of the intellect that ultimately lands him in the hands of law enforcement instead of succumbing to physical violence (which can ultimately be used against Vicky in a court). This is where melodrama dramatically wins out in the production, giving audiences something that they can only grasp onto at a visceral level. This satiates primal desires but leaves us intellectually unfulfilled.

Helming the production as director, Joan Kane has coached the cast to make the play as realistic as possible. The young cast, despite clichéd phrasing that is not wholly realistic coming from their mouths, paint portraits of youthful angst in rebellion and temper these portrayals with heart. When they say things like "She's somewhere where she'll never be forgotten-the internet," it is hard to take them seriously. Despite this, we do see them fight to get into the Ivy League schools their expensive private school is pushing them towards while saving face and finding stability on the ever-shifting ladder of social hierarchy. It's easy to understand what is at stake for them, especially when they deal with their peers.

As Vicky Walker, Olivia Scott crafts a character that is longing for acceptance from her peers and her mother. As the poorest kid in her school and as the daughter of a single mother, she is instantly an outsider. This logically informs her choices, which is another reason why the play would be stronger if she willingly engaged in the sexual activity that is used to damn her. Alex Esola's Roger Chase is the quintessential All-American prep school jock. He seems to legitimately love Vicky, but the writing doesn't always clarify if he is a victim of the sex tape scheme or a conspirator. Jesse Shane Bronstein's Oliver Bourne is delightfully brooding as the villain, but the script's attempt to give him a harrowing backstory that will endear him the audience seems forced and unnecessary. He is much more enjoyable as just a nasty kid with a vendetta against Vicky because his love for her is unrequited. Alexander Nifong's Ted Heller, Charlotte Frøyland's Emma, and Kelsey Wang's Lin Chang each do decent work as the friends on the periphery of the volatile love triangle. Whether awkward, studious, or both, they show the audience that not every member of the current generation of students is fully obsessed with cyber-culture and cyber-bullying. Lastly, Lué McWilliams' Margaret Walker is an adequate portrait of a troubled woman who has her daughter's best interest at heart, even if she isn't always able to show that through her own actions.

In its current execution, I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT seems more like a parable and less like a play based on real life experiences. It definitely does a good job starting conversation, but the cast seems to beg the audience to take it more seriously than the script and direction allow. If only culpability and agency were questioned, the play could be a stronger examination of these cyberbullying issues. Also, in exploring these themes the over exaggerated uses of feminist icons as stimulating fodder could be replaced with less invasive pro-feminist messages that the audience may be more inclined to carry with them afterwards.

I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT continues at The Lion Theatre (410 West 42nd Street, New York City, 10036) through Sunday, August 2. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM. For tickets and more information, please visit www.TeleCharge.com, http://egoactus.com/whatboyswant2015.html, or call (212) 239-6200.

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