Review: A Night of Need

The joke set up is simple. A guy walks into a bar. But the punchline, that's where things get interesting and the ingenuity of the writing comes in. In Half Moon Bay by Dan Moyer, a drunken meet-cute between a pair of millennials leads to inebriated truths that fosters an important bond.
Presented by Lesser America as part of Cherry Lane Theatre's inaugural company in residence, Half Moon Bay is a play about nothing yet about everything. Annie and Gabe meet at a bowling alley bar where vicious flirtation leads to another meeting and a nightcap. But when they arrive at Annie's place, the alcohol keeps flowing as their wants and needs are exposed. This is a play about two people who desperately need each other. One embraces the prospect, the other denies it. Half Moon Bay is more than watching a drunken hookup. Moyer has written a play with brilliantly rich characters. They are authentic and real. Their journey is accurate. Moyer has captured young people hookup culture yet found depth in the saga. His writing is snappy and accessible. He has the ability to cut the tension with a joke. But quite possibly the most striking commentary Moyer has raised is the power of substance. Whether intentional or not, you have to wonder would the bond between Gabe and Annie happen had alcohol, and a line of coke, not been introduced. The device of alcohol as a truth serum that serves as a bit of a crutch. But that may be the point. Would these two individuals make this important connection without being wasted out of their minds? It’s hard to say. But regardless, watching their journey provides an impeccable payoff.

photo by Steven Pisano

Two handers are all about chemistry. And there is no denying the duo of Half Moon Bay were magnetic. Gabriel King as Gabe and Keilly McQuail as Annie were a quicky comedic duo with incredible harmony. King gives a defining performance as the guy who gets dejected after his hopes get dashed yet never gives up on his desires. King has a goofy charm that played well in Moyer’s world. He used his physicality to his benefit. McQuail thrives in the idiosyncratic “Zooey Deschanel type”. But McQuail gives a bit more gruffness to Annie. What McQuail did well was not fall into the trap of playing her secret from the start of the play. It easily could have derailed the character’s journey. By allowing her reveal to come in such blindsiding fashion, authenticity comes out where the audience is just as shocked as Gabe. Because nothing of substance really happens in Half Moon Bay, you have to care about these characters. King and McQuail do just that.

photo by Steven Pisano

This production will be celebrated not only for the script and performances but by the ingenious scenic design by Reid Thompson. About thirty minutes into the show, intermission rolls around and you scratch your head thinking “but why?” If you stay in your seat and watch the dance of the scene shift, you’ll understand. Thompson has created two incredibly realistic locations in the intimate studio space at Cherry Lane. Wondrous is an understatement. Beginning with the carpeted dive bar, Thompson’s design evokes desperation. It serves its purpose. Though director Jess Chayes using the various bar space sparingly, you know this bar despite having never visited it before. For Act II, Annie’s mess of an apartment is decently spacious and a divided up well. Thompson avoidance of sharp angles, calling for a more linear look, was smart. This is a play of naturalism and the set needed to match it. When it came to guiding her duo. Jess Chayes found ways to bring out the best and worst of each person. Aside from the set, Chayes didn’t fall back on anything flashy. She allowed the words to speak for themselves. The lighting design by Mike Inwood and sound design by Janie Bullard was effective. The costumes from M. Meriwether Snipes fit the characters perfectly.
Whether you want to admit it or not, you are or know these people. You’ve been in this situation before. Dan Moyer’s Half Moon Bay is one to remember. This will be a play that will be performed all over the place. From colleges to scene study classes to every audition, Half Moon Bay is a special play. Lesser America has another hit on their hands.

Review: Tales of a Straying Heart

Sometimes we want what we shouldn't have. Those things that are attainable but cause an avalanche of consequences if acquired. But why do we want them? Maybe because we're unhappy in a current situation. But when you're heart and mind are set upon achieving the thing you shouldn't have, not even your best friend or spouse can stand in your way. Such is the case in John Jiler's Half Moon Bay, presented in rep by Nylon Fusion Theatre Company at The New Ohio Theater
In Jiler's drama about human connection and desire to fulfill the unfulfilled, Richie develops a fascination for a young woman that may not be all quite there. As his obsession grows deeper, Richie pushes away his pregnant wife for a stranger he strives to save. Told through a narration lens by cynical and confident best friend Tom, Half Moon Bay features an unsavory situation that drives the play into madness. The plot is unsettling mostly because the reality of possibility. What Jiler writes about is not uncommon. Sadly, it happens more often than not. So from a story standpoint, Jiler has crafted something that is bound to allow the audience to feel something. But when you dissect the text, there’s something off about Half Moon Bay. And it may be due to the character of Alicia, the troubled young woman Richie strives for. As we learn the truths about Alicia, it’s hard to understand why Richie does what he does. What is it about this stranger that ignites his passion? The way we view Richie is that he is impulsive and irrational with an obsessive fascination with an unstable woman. And the more we learn, the less we sympathize for his situation. You long for Pam, Richie’s wife, after she’s abandoned. You end up liking Tom, the overly confident best friend, even if some of his comments are brazen. But with the focus on the relationship between Richie and Alicia, there feels as if there is some repetition in the ninety-minute play. The way Jiler has crafted his play is sharp, allowing the action to move. But he seems to give away the mysteries early on. Which may have been the point. When Richie is finally rejected, he comes groveling back to Pam. And we see what happens as a result. We see his punishment. There’s something about ambiguity that may have been desired in this final moment.

The star of the show was Brennan Taylor as Tom. Taylor had the unique task of being a supporting character that drives the narrative. Taylor is suave and cynical yet completely endearing. The way he was able to rock the shiny silver suit proved his worth has a character. As Richie, Ben Gougeon looked out of place. It was a bit hard to imagine him as the sarcastic lawyer’s best friend with the girl of his dreams. But when you have it all, you have to prove why you’re willing to give it all away. Gougeon didn’t quite do that. Gougeon seemed to follow the formula as prescribed by the playwright without straying or making any bold choices. Like the character, he was just missing something. As Pam, Jean Goto was overly affected in many of her acting choices. It wasn’t until she stood strong that Goto’s confidence resonated. Ivette Dumeng as Alicia had an incredibly difficult character to portray. Dumeng had to control the character’s unraveling without revealing the her instability too soon. Partly due to the text, it was hard to see the connection between Alicia and Tom. Additionally, while it may have been a character choice, Dumeng was soft spoken causing some audibility issues even in the second row.
Director Margarett Perry took Jiler’s fluid script and made it translate onto the stage. Timing was everything with Perry’s vision. Perry did not utilize any props or scenic elements to allow for the scenes to quickly ride into one another. The transitional vocabulary was a bit mixed, either having characters linger on stage or rush right off stage, but there was consistency in cohesiveness between the lights and sounds by Wilburn Bonnell and Andy Evan Cohen respectively. Bonnell used sharp shifts that may not have caught Brennan Taylor in his light every time, but the intent was present. The simplicity of the percussion from Cohen was a wonderful touch to the world of the play. The set by Kyu Shin was primarily featured by the monochromatic blue floor that looked like a topographical map.
Half Moon Bay is quite an interesting text. There’s something enticing about having an emotional connection, whether good, bad, or indifferent. But there is a spark missing that can set this play apart.