Blind dates. They’re risky, nerve-wracking and incredibly
common in a society of singles anxious to hook up with Mr. or Ms.
Right. But who’s to blame when a blind date goes terribly,
horribly wrong? Opening tonight at the Geffen Playhouse for a
six-week run, “Boy Gets Girl” by award-winning
playwright Rebecca Gilman is a savvy, contemporary thriller about a
date that goes from bad to worse to truly terrifying. Called the #1
Play of 2000 by Time magazine, the all-new Los Angeles production
features Nancy Travis, Mark Deakins and James Farentino, and is
directed by Geffen artistic director Randall Arney. Gilman, an
Alabama native currently based in Chicago, established her
reputation for tackling provocative, controversial subjects early
on in her career. Her deft handling of topics like racism, serial
killers and the pornography industry have earned her a Pulitzer
Prize nomination, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Roger L. Stevens
Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. She was
the first American to win London’s prestigious Evening
Standard Award for most promising playwright in 1999. Arney,
previously an artistic director of Chicago’s prestigious
Steppenwolf Theater, has been a longtime fan of Gilman’s
work. When “Boy Gets Girl” came across his desk at the
Geffen, he was immediately hooked. “I started the play and
didn’t put it down until I finished it,” he said.
“And in this job, I read an awful lot of material.
Rebecca’s jumped out at me. I think she’s the real
deal.” Gilman’s play, which had its original premiere
at Chicago’s Goodman Theater, deals with the objectification
of women from both male and female perspectives, using the stalking
of one woman by a crazed blind date to examine interpersonal
relationships between the sexes. “It deals with how our
culture teaches us to relate to each other sexually ““ how men
are taught to relate to women, to expect that the boy always gets
the girl,” said Arney. Gilman’s initial inspiration for
“Boy Gets Girl” was a sidebar to a New York Times
article which listed safety tips for victims of stalking. The
column’s suggestions ranged from pruning down house hedges to
changing one’s identity. “It occurred to Rebecca that
all the advice was for the victim,” said Arney. “That
the victim is asked to make all the changes. Women are taught in
society, it must be me, it must be something I’ve
done.” Although the play deals with very disturbing events,
it also contains the witty elements that Gilman refers to as her
Mary Poppins “Spoonful of Sugar” philosophy: using
humor to lighten a heavy load. “I think that a lot of the
subjects I explore could make for some pretty relentless
drama,” she recently told Detours magazine. “I think
that audiences simply get worn out if they’re not given room
to breathe. The proper amount of laughter can diffuse the tension
in a play and allow the audience to get ready for the next idea or
conflict.” Gilman’s ability to confront difficult
issues seem to bode well for her future as a playwright, and
according to Arney, for the future of theater in general.
“She’s a young, female voice writing plays that are
contemporary in their issues,” he said. “This
play’s very provocative, but it’s also very urban and
hip and a really scary thriller. The theater experience is visceral
and exciting, and then after the show when you’re sitting in
a restaurant, she’s given you a lot to chew on.”
“Boy Gets Girl” will run through May 11. The
Geffen Playhouse is located at 10886 Le Conte Ave. in Westwood. $10
student rush tickets are offered one hour before curtain, subject
to availability. Call (310) 208-5454 to reserve tickets or for more
information.