BWW Reviews: Trio of Young Actors Will Rock You in Counter-Productions' NICO WAS A FASHION MODEL

What's in a name? A rose by any other name...well, you know the rest. A name can, in truth, mean everything or it can mean nothing at all. For some people, their name is everything, their entire identity. For something like a play, for example, a name or title can be a little perplexing. Counter-Productions Theatre Company's current play, Nico Was a Fashion Model sounds a bit like it might be a reality show. But to let the unusual name dissuade you from seeing it would be a mistake. This is a fine production of a thought-provoking play populated by three excellent young actors.

It's October of 2006 and the famous CBGB club in New York City is about to host its final concert before closing forever. Over in Levittown, on Long Island, two young punk-rock-loving teenagers are plotting and planning their way into the club to see the final performances. Jesse, who is African-American and Luis, who is Latino, have failed at getting fake IDs and prospects are looking dim. Suddenly, in walks Paige, a teenage platinum-blonde punk fan who works at Babies 'R Us next door and may offer the boys a way into the club. Things don't go as planned, though, when racial tensions and prejudices rear their ugly head and everyone is forced to face their moral and ethical demons.

Nico is written by J. Julian Christopher and his script has a lot in common with many other plays making the rounds these days, not the least of which is that it primarily deals with the issues of race. At least five plays dealing with race have appeared on area stages recently. Christopher does, though, offer something different by putting race into the context of adolescence. It's hard enough being a confused, conflicted, hormonal teenager, but add race and prejudice into the mix and things can get even more volatile.

There's a slight missed opportunity in the other context Christopher provides, that of the punk rock music scene. It would have been nice to see him really dig deep into how the punk scene and punk music affected these teenagers, including how that music scene impacted the racial tensions between them. Christopher flirts around this possibility but never really dives in with both feet. Lots of name dropping of punk artists and songs doesn't really get to the core of how punk and race did or did not intertwine.

Another place where the script doesn't fully succeed is giving us characters that are truly developed. They have lots and lots of personality for sure, but personality does not equal depth. It would be nice to really get to know them, their stories, backgrounds, families, etc, but that never really happens. In a number of ways, they remain "the African-American kid," "the Latino kid," and "the white girl." Christopher also doesn't really give them a chance to truly resolve their issues. He seems content with letting them just yell and scream and jump up and down a lot. On the other hand, one could argue that teenagers just deal with things that way. They yell and scream and lash out at each other, erupting in a volcano of emotion and confusion, get it out of their system and then go right back to their day-to-day lives.

Script weaknesses aside, Director Ted Clement has done a lot of things right with this production. First, of course, is the undeniably good casting. Clement has found three age-appropriate actors who bring an amazing amount of energy and commitment to their roles. Getting to watch actors on stage, giving it their all, leaving everything out there and not holding back is always a pleasure for an audience to watch. It's also clear that Clement is doing something right during rehearsals. He's gotten these three actors to develop fantastic chemistry with each other, a relationship of communication, trust and respect that comes across in their performances.

To put one actor above the other would be to do them a disservice since they are such a formidable team. Ronald Lewis as Jesse and Michael Flowers and Luis seem like they truly have been friends forever. And if they don't like punk music in real life, they certainly act as if they do in the most convincing way imaginable. Flowers gets a little more to do as Luis and has some intimate, personal moments that he handles very nicely. His scene with Paige Barry as Christa, when they discover a budding teenage romance, is perfectly sweet in the best sense.

Barry has a little more of a challenge on her hands as Christa, the girl who shakes things up from the moment she enters the alley where the boys are congregating. Paige, as she is written, is not a very well-developed character, little is ever really revealed about her, and her shocking actions are never given any real reason or motivation. The character could easily devolve into a stereotype, a hollow cliché, but Barry and her director are not satisfied with that easy way out. Instead, they create a fully realized, complicated and conflicted person. Maybe she's a racist or maybe she's acting out of some sort of rational fear or justification, an answer is never given, but Barry's performance gives the audience much to mull over.

This also marks Counter-Productions' first show in their new space, the Black Box at Ninety-Five Empire. They seem to have settled quite nicely in the former home of the sorely missed Perishable Theatre, and use the space perfectly. It's also nice to see that they'll be mixing it up with their next show, something completely different. For now, though, this thought-provoking look at race and adolescence marks another success for a company that has quickly made an impression on the Rhode Island theater scene.

Nico Was a Fashion Model will play Friday, the 22nd and Saturday, the 23rd, at 8pm and Sunday, the 24th at 7pm at the Black Box at Ninety-Five Empire, 95 Empire Street in downtown Providence. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased through Counter-Productions' website at www.cptcri.com.

Pictured: (L to R) Ronald Lewis and Michael Flowers.

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