Review: MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA at ArtsWest

For a play to be a truly satisfying journey we need compelling characters, conflict between those characters and some kind of resolution to the conflict where the characters grow or are richer for the experience. And while ArtsWest's World Premiere of Christian St. Croix's "Monsters of the American Cinema" certainly has the first two elements it lacks the third making for an unsatisfying evening.

The premise, which was quite exciting in the synopsis, centers on Remy (Lamar Legend), a black, gay man living in a small California town where he runs the local drive-in theater. He was left the theater by his late husband along with the care of his husband's teenage son Pup (Alexander Kilian). All seems great with the relationship between the two until Remy learns that Pup and his friends have been bullying a gay classmate.

Interesting, right? The play is mostly told through a series of monologues where the two characters delve into their past and what brought them to this point. And that's one big problem with the piece as, in this 90-minute play, there's so much more monologuing as opposed to actual dialog and interaction between the sole two actors. So, we're basically being told about these people rather than experiencing them for ourselves. The interactions they do have are light and conflict free until the last 10 or 15 minutes of the play when the central issue is presented, bringing us to problem number two. We've spent so much time waiting for something to happen that when it finally does, we're not sure we care. The issue should have been at the halfway point so as to allow the characters somewhere to go. So, now we're left with the last 15 or so minutes of the show for the characters to come to a denouement. Which brings me to problem number three and the biggest problem of the play, they don't. No one really grows or changes or learns anything. They have the conflict, and the rest of the play consists of rehashing an issue from Pup's childhood (which has nothing to do with the conflict) ending with an "all is right with the world, let's hug it out" moment, basically sweeping the egregious actions of Pup and his friends under the rug. There are no stakes, and no consequences making their actions mean nothing.

Legend, who also serves as the director of the piece, does an admirable job at keeping the pacing going but even that felt uneven and clunky at times. Especially hampered by long pauses for changes between scenes and a set from Ryan Dunn that offers severe sightline issues for ArtsWest's new theater-in-the-round setup. However, Legend and Kilian do what they can in keeping things compelling and have both crafted interesting and likable characters. But ultimately characters that go nowhere.

I'll admit to being excited by ArtsWest's "when we wake" season and the synopsis of this play was a big part of that excitement. But this world premiere was not done cooking and just came out bland and not able to hold itself together. And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give ArtsWest's World Premiere of "Monsters of the American Cinema" a disappointed NAH. If you want to tell me a story, then tell me a complete story. Don't just give me the promising bones of a story and walk away.

"Monsters of the American Cinema" performs at ArtsWest through February 20th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.artswest.org.

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