|
review What all happenin' inside 900 Oneonta? Mmm, mmm. Big Daddy's dyin' on his last breath. Fair-haired son loves the cocaine. Brother's strictly a man's man. Every woman in the house is a tramp drunk. Oh my Lordy, my Lordy. Is this the theatre of Tennessee Williams? Not quite. Welcome to David Beaird's brilliant black comedy "900 Oneonta". The breakout hit of London's West End in 1995, "900 Oneonta" has found its first real U.S. production at the Odyssey Theatre. (New York's late, lamented Circle Rep put the play up for a week in 1998 before closing its doors.) This is a major American play combining the weighty themes of Greek tragedy with thedramatically funny anarchy of vintage Guare and Durang. And, of course, a respectful wink to Mr. Lanier. Using "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" as a model, writer-director Beaird thrusts us into the dilemma of Walter "Dandy" McClure, a profane, racist patriarch of a wealthy Louisiana family. It's 1979, the South is changing, and Dandy has decided to die on this beautiful summer day. When he pleads with his slutty daughter in-law Burning Jewel to "make your fucks count," it's just the first step in a weird morning of familial reckoning. Dandy doesn't think any of his descendants deserve his $20 million fortune - except maybe his estranged grandson Tiger, a hellraising drug addict as profane and wild as the old man. Since Tiger shot his light-fingered brother Gitlo last night, he's persona non grata at 900 Oneonta. But when Dandy orders his attorney to give his money to Tiger or the Catholic Church, an epic and comic family struggle begins. Dandy is an ugly old coot, but we begin to side with him as the play progresses and see the good side of a man who only wants to ask God "Why have I lived?" and his family "Why should I love you?" Leland Crooke's fantastic performance generates a lot of empathy against all odds. Dandy is 76, and Crooke appears to be in his late forties by the looks of his eight-by-ten, but he virtually turns into an old man in a mean, agile performance that was also the talk of the play's West End run. Ben Daniels gives us a mighty, feral turn as Tiger - no surprise, considering his work opposite leopards in the art film "Passion in the Desert". And Jon Cryer generates mucho laughs as Gitlo in an antic yet subtle performance that proves he's a damn fine actor. Peggy Ann Blow and Missi Pyle do especially humorous work in small roles (Pyle lounges against the furniture in a dead-on, circa-1960 Liz Taylor impression). This paragraph has to end, so I can't mention every performance in one of the best ensemble casts you're likely to see in Southern California this year. A "well-made" play progressing in real time, built of clichés but filled with surprises, "900 Oneonta" is a jewel. It offers an amazingly raw and foul-mouthed journey toward beautiful hope and grace. It's the funniest tragedy I've seen in years.
"900 Oneonta", Wed.-Sun. through June 27 at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd, West Los Angeles. $15-25. 310.477.2055.
|