By Carol Davis
SAN DIEGO— Diversionary Theatre announced that it has invited a rabbi, a pastor and a humanist to host a panel to discuss how family and faith ‘shape our lives and our relationships’. It’s all in conjunction with its current offering, Geoffrey Naufft’s Next Fall, a poignant, contemporary and funny play about being gay, about believing and about not believing. It’s about friendship and family, geography and history and past and present beliefs. It has it all except solutions.
Luke (Stewart Calhoun) and Adam (Matt McGrath) are lovers. They have been for the past five years. Luke is deeply religious, and wears it on his sleeve. We know this because he gives thanks before he eats and after sex. (He knows that sex with Adam is a sin.) But more importantly, he does not question the dogma of his childhood teachings and is at peace with himself regarding his evangelical Christian beliefs around life and death (“When the time comes… I welcome it”). He knows Adam is a non-believer. “I never had that in my life, so how do I know for sure…everything’s gonna be all right”?
But they have bigger problems than Adam’s non-religion. Luke’s parents don’t know he is gay. He has yet to come out, explaining to Adam that ‘next fall’ when his younger brother goes off to college he will deal. So far, he has been able to manage the gay issue. His mother Arlene (Shana Wride) and Dad, Butch (John Whitley) live in Florida and have been separated for years. He is pretty much on his own and ‘safe’ in New York.
Luke works in a candle shop that is owned by Adam’s best friend, Holly (Jacque Wilke). He aspires to be an actor. Adam is a substitute teacher, and wannabe writer. He is older and somewhat of a hypochondriac. Adam and Luke have their differences and may or may not have worked them out. We will never know because of the tragedy that will bring these good folks together; Luke is struck by a cab and is in a coma on life support.
The story weaves back and fourth, (Matt Scott designed the set) past to present and back again giving us snippets of how they met, what their life looks and looked like, to some degree, and how they came to be the men they are today.
When we meet the entire family they are in the waiting area of an ICU at a Jewish Hospital in Manhattan. (This play has it all. Jewish, Agnostic and Fundamentalist Christian). Luke’s Mother Arlene (Shawna Wride is wonderfully over the top as the discombobulated recovering addict whom we later learn has fallen off the wagon.) and doesn’t seem to have a clue about what’s really going on. When Holly mentions that they also sell tchochkes and things in the candle shop, Arlene wants to know if it’s a Jewish thing like bagels.
His irritated and narrow-minded father Butch is also present. Both parents have just arrived from Florida. Butch is furious to learn that the cab driver has no insurance or green card! Butch paces and challenges everyone. I suspect he knows more than he lets on just by the anger he has toward Adam throughout the play. Whitley’s actions and reactions are homophobic appropriate. He doesn’t endear anyone to him. “Who let’s these jackasses across the border, that’s what I want to know.” “I’ll sue the whole damn city if I have to.” And so on.
Long time friend Brandon (Tony Houck), a Bible studying property developer, and friend Holly are already there. I understand Holly’s involvement in Luke’s life; she is after all his friend and boss. She came into his life by way of Adam, who used to work for her as well. But the character of Brandon is like a hanging chad and is never really fully explained. (Houck, a wonderful actor in his own right, is rendered useless in this part). Jacque Wilke is wonderful as more of a comic relief figure. Her timing is so spot-on that every time she’s in a scene, it radiates with her presence.
James Vasquez directs Next Fall, which just played at The Geffen, with an eye focused more on the lighter side of playwright Nauffts’ a la Neil Simon style one-liners while the real issues are sidelined. It’s frustrating to watch Adam, who is not allowed to see Luke when he finally arrives at the hospital after coming home from a high school reunion. Instead Adam huffs and puffs but never adventures into that world. After a while it becomes old hat. Butch has notified the hospital personnel that ‘only family’ can go in Luke’s room. Why Adam just doesn’t tell Butch what he already knows and put him out of his misery is a mystery.
McGrath, who was recently seen as Dr. Frank “N” Furter in The Old Globe’s production of The Rocky Horror Show, is surly and sullen and from this reviewer’s perspective is pretty sexy looking even though he has problems making decisions and is a chronic hypochondriac. In other words, he’s perfect foil for Luke as Adam. They are good together.
Calhoun’s Luke is much younger, and eager to please, yet fully committed to his views and teachings. The contrast in their life styles reflects their differences in just about everything. Talk about opposites attracting, this is a classic case. The relationship between the two, regardless of their disagreement, works and is believable, however and we keep on rooting for a) Luke to recover and b) for Adam to have time to spend with his lover.
Matt Scott’s versatile set makes the transitions from past locations to present fold out effortlessly by simply opening and or closing panels that expose or hide the new or last scene. Even the one bedside visit works well. Michelle Caron’s lighting works but I never did understand why the banner with the Menorah was hanging in the background well into the play. I did understand the Mezuzah on the door (it belonged to the previous occupants of Luke and Adam’s Manhattan apartment) but unless you are familiar with that religious symbol, it will go down on the trivia list for Jeopardy.
Next Fall deserves to be seen if for nothing else, to understand the corruption that takes place within the religious community (churches and some synagogues) when the gay community is condemned and vilified. When marriage equality is shot down, when children cannot feel safe sharing with their own parents their sexual preference, and when young people feel the need to kill themselves because they are different, attention must be paid!
See you at the theatre.
Dates: through March 25th
Organization: Diversionary Theatre
Phone: 619-220-0097
Production Type: Drama
Where: 4545 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92116
Ticket Prices: $31.00-$33.00
Web: diversionary.org
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Davis is a San Diego-based theatre critic. She may be contacted at carol.davis@sdjewishworld.com