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COUNTERCULTURE
THEATRE REVIEW
Laughing Wild: Camp Sensibilty
in the Post-modern Age
by Charlene Ball
A woman sitting in the gutter of a New York
street lets out a banshee laugh. A man standing
nearby asks her why. She replies, Tm laughing
wild amid severest woe.
The quote is from Samuel Beckett; and this
play by Christopher Durang- clearly descended
from "Waiting For Godot"- might well be called
a post-Existentialist lament, except that it's quite
topically funny. It's a satire on New Age non
think, the Catholic Church’s views on sexuality,
and late 20th century urban culture - cluttered
with consumer goods, pop spirituality, and
random madness. It's like Godot by Woody
Allen, seen through the eyes of a camp
sensibility.
The characters are disaffected New York
intellectuals, hungry for faith and meaning in
what has become to them a nightmarish,
meaningless existence. McCook’s character is a
former mental patient, unemployed and holding
onto her life by a thread as she struggles to
survive. But the indifference of the world around
her, and her own restless, doubting and
suspicious mind, make communication
impossible for her.
Leaver's character, unlike the woman, is a
success in the eyes of the world, but his life is
empty. He tries EST, he carries note cards with
New Age bromides written on them, and he
applies crystals to his head in hopes of being
spiritually healed, all to no avail.
The script satirizes the post-modem search for
meaning - a search that may have been heroic in
earlier times, but can be nothing but absurd now
in our supermarket TV culture where tuna fish
cans and pop spirituality, crystals and guns,
violence and the Harmonic Convergence all pile
in upon us. The script has some truly funny
moments, and gives a portrait of our culture at a
certain moment
The play does display the actors' talents. But
Leaver and McCook are simply too young to be
Harold Leaver and Shelly Me Cook in
"Laughing Wild" at The Actor's Express
convincing in these roles. McCook plays the
woman as a stereotypical bitch which is good for
a few good laughs, but gets quickly tiresome.
McCook doesn't play the character as disoriented
and fearful as she needs to be played, thus her
hostility seems unmotivated and merely "crazy."
Leaver is just too boyishly likable as the man.
When his character reveals his obsessiveness and
bullying insensitivity, he loses his credibility.
Still, the show can be enjoyed for a number of
things. The satire on popular, instant-fix
spirituality; the maddening frustrations of daily
life; Leaver's impassioned monologue on God
and AIDS; and McCook's final vulnerability and
intensity.
"Laughing Wild" is witty and topical; it is
moving in places. But the production needs more
mature insight and more consistency.
Laughing Wild runs through Dec. 30 at The
Actor's Express Fri. and Sat.at midnight
through Dec. 23, and at 8:00PM on Dec. 29 &
30.$12.221-0831 for more information.
Harold Leaver and
The Actor’s Express
by Charlene Ball
Harold Leaver is co-founder, with Chris
Coleman, of The Actor's Express, one of the
brightest new theatrical ventures in Atlanta.
Called "the metro area's hottest new theater
company," by Steve Murray of the Journal-
ConslitutionJThc Actor's Express is a theater
company definitely worth watching.
Harold Leaver is only 27. Originally from
Doraville, Ga., he graduated from Rhodes
College in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1984 with a
BA in Theatre Arts. In the summer of 1988, he
produced and directed Harvey Fierslein's "Safe
Sex" as a benefit for AID Atlanta. Chris
Coleman, a former classmate of Harold's at
Sequoyah High School in Doraville, auditioned
for "Safe Sex,” and the two decided to start a
theater company together.
The Actor's Express does "socially relevant
theater," according to Harold. Their varied
productions bear out this program: "The Good
Woman of Setzuan" by Bertold Brecht deals
with class privilege and moral choice, "The
Vision" by Atlanta playwright Ronda Bowe
satirized New Age enlightenment hype, and
"Traps" by Caryl Churchill deals with
contemporary relationships.
An upcoming play Is "0 Positive," which
opens in February. "0 Positive" caused some
controversy in Los Angeles. "The controversy
occurred because three characters who are HTV
positive decide to kill themselves," says Harold.
"It was written in 1987, and it reflects when an
HIV positive diagnosis was believed to be a
death sentence. But the play is life-affirming by
the end."
The Actor's Express is interested in doing
good gay theater, says Harold, since theater is a
way of educating the general public about gays
and gay issues. "Education is the key," he adds.
The Actor's Express has certainly gotten off to a
good start towards educating, while entertaining,
its audiences.
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