By Eva Trieger
LA JOLLA, California -While New York’s Anthony Weiner and San Diego’s own Bob Filner are making front page news for their alleged sexcapades and perfidy, La Jolla Playhouse presents Sideways, the tale of a bachelor party gone most awry. Sure, sexual misconduct is always titillating, but most especially when it’s so downright deliberate and egregious. I guess in the world of politics it only enhances one’s charisma, but somehow in the average Joe’s universe it seems counter-intuitive to wedded bliss.
High school teacher and writer, Miles (Patrick Breen) believes he may be on the verge of success. His present life is dismal. He is recently divorced, still in love with his ex-wife, hasn’t published and is in serious financial debt. Yet he perks up at the news that his agent may have found a publisher for his latest book. His best bud, trust fund recipient, and first class dog, Jack (Sean Allan Krill) is about to be married. The two guys set off for a celebratory Bachelor Week in Santa Barbara’s wine country.
Miles’ goal is to discover all the nuances and whispered promises in a glass (or magnum) of pinot noir. Jack has a slightly different objective. Not only does he want to make the most of his last week of being unhitched; it is his personal mission to make sure Miles shakes loose his celibate status.
I must confess, as a “verbivore” I loved the language of this play. The adjectives, the references, the vocabulary were rich, creative and left me lusting for….more of the same. And I was not disappointed. Several of these moments occur when Miles is being a wine snob. In one wine tasting room he finds the pinot “pornographically good”. In another he pronounces the pour merely “quaffable.” Yes, Miles is eccentric but he does appear more principled than the randy Jack, who is just looking to score before he settles down for a lifetime with Babs, to whom Miles ascribes the “aesthetic sensibility of a toadstool.”
When Miles observes Jack coming on to the server in a tasting room he points out that Jack “didn’t know pinot noir from film noire” until today. This ribbing does not deter Jack who ends up bedding Terra (Zoe Chao) and oh yeah, neglecting to mention to her that he is getting married at week’s end. As these two are “bonding” via very clever scenery, Miles and Maya (Nadia Bowers) are discussing life’s unexpected twists and turns and their mutual love of good wines, those rare gems that Miles has sequestered away for some unknowable future date, and Maya has pilfered from her philandering husband’s wine cellar.
At first blush, Miles appears a bit disturbed by Jack’s willingness to forget about Babs. He reminds his friend frequently that he is to be married. Both men seem to lack a moral compass where honesty is concerned, and indulge in the Bacchanalian feast that is presented. After hot tubbing, drinking and consummating their duets, the boys find themselves awash in some rot gut. Maya has told Terra about Jack’s untruths and both the fellows are dashed and abashed. Miles book deal crashes and Jack understands he must marry Babs.
Several other characters round out the cast, notably Chris (Mike Sears) a tasting room manager, and Brad (Tom Patterson) a bonifide boar shooting kook. Miles mother (Cynthia Mace) is written and performed with great flair. The design team of Robert Brill, Michael Walton and Paul Tazewell, deserve huge kudos for creating a creative and innovative stage for such a complex show.
Does infidelity have its roots in insecurity? Is it the desire to be the Master of one’s domain? Or is it much simpler than that? Perhaps all of the testosterone that was the catalyst for Weiner, Filner and Jack was simply a case of pinot envy!
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Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com