Love Game

Venue:  The Clinic

Remaining Performances:
Saturday, July 24th, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 25th, 6:30 p.m.

They Say: “What do you know about that LOVE GAME ? JT Angel Productions Presents: LOVE GAME, a love epic that follows 5 couples as they embark on a journey of THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY of Modern Day Love.”

Sophia’s Take: ‘Love Game’ is the passion project of James Turner. As the writer, director, stage manager, production manager, marketing manager, and star of the piece, Turner explores the theme of contemporary love through five couples that come together to live under one roof for one year.  As you might imagine, the very thing that makes this production admirable is also its downfall. Love Game suffers from many of the pitfalls of a production lacking in an outside eye to keep it on track. The long awkward scene-changes derail the pace and the blocking of the group scenes doesn’t always allow the actor that’s speaking to be seen.

As a writer, Turner gives his play an interesting structure. Most of the scenes play out in the house in which all ten characters live, though what brought them together for the year in question is never made clear. An eleventh character, an angel, a kind of divine-presence Greek Chorus, offers opening and closing monologues, and occasionally appears to comment on the action and explain the lessons we are meant to learn. Though played with aplomb and charm by Valerie Howard, the angel would be less necessary if Turner’s point of view were clearer within the content of the scenes.

Turner attempts to tackle everything from inter-racial relationships, to infidelity, to how anatomy limits the extent to which men and women are able to understand each other. It takes courage to address such complicated issues, and there are many thoughtful lines peppered throughout the show, yet any one of his subjects could be a whole play unto itself. On the basis of which characters find happiness and which do not, we can hazard a guess at Turner’s point of view. Too often, however, the big questions are asked, and are then left hanging in the air, without being thoroughly explored.

All this said, the creativity and rapport of the ensemble is apparent. A natural and charismatic comedic performer himself, Turner has gathered many confident and skillful actors to his team–Willie Lee, Lauren Ash-Morgan, and Allison Hayden, in particular. Renee Holtz also stands out for her strong and regal presence.

‘Love Game’ is also not without wisdom. When either Turner, or his assistant director and fellow castmate Amin “Drew Law” Dallal, are able to direct the smaller scenes, Turner’s point of view suddenly becomes much clearer.  Two of Turner’s couples are granted happy endings in a series of insightful final scenes. For instance, when Raymond sits down with his ex-girlfriend and first love to gain closure, they realize that attraction and shared history do not amount to love in the present moment, and the work feels tender and truthful.

See it if: You want to see a passionate ensemble of performers wrestle with questions about love, lust, and making peace with the past.

Skip it if: You expect them to have found all their answers.

7 (x1) Samurai
David Gaines
Mr. Gaines may hawk his show as “An Epic Tale…told by an idiot,” but during the 7 minutes I witnessed last night, it became uproariously clear that this man is no idiot. Dressed as part street-pantomime part Japanese warrior, Gaines was riveting as he moved seamlessly among his manifold nonspeaking characters. This is serious, sidesplitting, mesmerizing stuff, and to see one man sustain it for 45 minutes is a feat I refuse to miss.

Slave Narratives Revisited
Mosaic Theatre Productions
Talk about a powerhouse: Lary Moten, in two tantalizingly short monologues, had everyone in RFD’s back room transfixed last night. He transformed that space twice in 5 minutes: first into an antebellum southern crossroads, and then into a Montgomery bus in 1956. There were some truly sublime (and deeply funny) moments, and if this is what 5 minutes in a bar feels like, well then I can’t wait to see the real thing.

Check out a few more suggestions after the jump.

Ball & Chain
Journeymen Theater Ensemble
Ball & Chain is a collection of seven short riffs on love and marriage. The Journeymen teased a piece called “Love in the Time of GPS,” a witty flirtation between a man and his green-eyed Global Positioning System. Although each of the seven shorts is written by a different local playwright, if “GPS” is any indication of the quality of humor, Ball & Chain should induce quite a few chuckles.

Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue Presents: The Oresteia
Spooky Action Theater
I have to admit, I’m usually skeptical of modern takes on the classics. Not so with Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Oresteia after what I saw last night. This show is sure to be a veritable volkstragedy, weaving Aeschylus’ tale of revenge with a bluegrass sensibility. Plus the tune they played was catchy, precisely rehearsed, and contained the words “vile whore” in the chorus.

I Like Nuts! (The Musical)
I Like Nuts! (The Company)
You know, after seeing only one number, I can’t really tell you what I Like Nuts! (The Musical) is going to be “about,” per se. But I can tell you that it was brazenly irreverent, overtly silly, and that I laughed my ass off. When the woman sitting next to you can’t stop herself from spontaneously singing along to “I like nuts! I like nuts in my mouth!”–well, that’s when you know you’re watching something special.