Wednesday, February 25, 1998
Odyssey playes everyone for the fool with new play
THEATER: Show questions moral, intellectual issues facing
present-day people
By Sam Toussi
Daily Bruin Contributor
When you drive up to the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, the theater
looks like little more than a factory outlet or an imitation
furniture store. When you go inside, though, you find a theater
that is among the best in Los Angeles The only thing that the
Odyssey fails to do is disappoint.
The Odyssey Theatre Ensembles West Coast premiere of The Jumping
Fool is no exception. The guest production is the most recent in a
string of attracting talent to the Odyssey Theatre.
Written and directed by Shirl Herndryx, the play begins
auspiciously with the lead character (the play is essentially a
one-man show) telling the audience that hes conned them into
showing up. Good for him. Benoy (Charles Lucia) is a prominent
journalist with a beautiful wife hes in love with and two good
kids. Hes got friends, hes got money, hes got everything. Then one
day he runs into an acrobat on the beach, whom he accidentally
insults, and his life begins to dissolve. All of a sudden, he cant
stop thinking about the acrobat. He repeatedly goes to the acrobats
loft, searching for an answer as to why he feels so hollow.
The Jumping Fool leaves each audience member to take what he or
she will from the play so no interpretation would be entirely
valid. But the play is definitely existential and asks some
questions that weve all asked, questions about who we are and why
we exist.
On the verge of the millennium, how have we advanced beyond
animal status? Does what we do in our daily lives mean more or less
than what they did one thousand years ago?
Its frustrating, and Hendryxs script exploits that frustration
eloquently. The script revolves around the same thought for
prolonged periods of time without any answers. But thats the point.
From the moment Lucia steps onstage and tells us that what we are
about to see really isnt a play, Hendryx puts the audience and
Benoy in the same boat. Benoy is the everyday man and through him
Hendryx attempts to explore theatrically the frustration everyone
has felt at one time or another.
Lucia plays the part of a breaking man with a great deal of
skill. Every facial move is justified, causing the audience to move
with every emotion he has. As Lucias Benoy begins to dissolve into
insanity, the audience begins to shift nervously at once because
they hate to see the main character suffer and then because they
want Benoy to find his way.
The acrobat (Philip R. Allen) doesnt help anyone. For every
question Benoy asks, the acrobat answers with a cryptic reply which
brings us no closer to any answers.
Allens performance is over-the-top and perfectly justified. With
his exaggerated Eastern European accent and maniacal laughs his
character is obviously symbolic. Allen provides insights on just
what the character symbolizes by being as crazy as he is onstage.
Every laugh (more like a cackle) and every outburst helps the
audience along the theme of the play. While the acrobat drives
Benoy crazy, he relieves the audience to a certain extent.
If Lucias Benoy shows the audience frustration, it is his wife
Maria (Terry Diab) who exhibits the feeling of helplessness that
seems to be the soul of the play.
Diab plays a strong, intelligent woman who watches helplessly as
her husband disintegrates before her eyes. The choices she makes as
an actress are touching and sympathetic. At Benoys lowest point,
she resists bawling, choosing instead to speak with a pent-up tear
thats even more heartbreaking.
The Jumping Fool is an intellectually tickling and haunting
play. With a combination of style and substance, it is a
contemporary morality play thats more than worthy of a look and a
thought.
THEATER: The Jumping Fool runs through March 22 at the Odyssey
Theatre Ensemble on Sepulveda just north of Olympic. Tickets are
$20 on Fridays and Saturdays and $15 on Thursdays and Sundays, with
discounts for students. Call (310) 477-2055 for more
information.
Odyssey Theater
Philip Allen (left) and Charles Lucia perform in The Jumping
Fool.