Tuesday, February 11, 1997
THEATER:
Black comedy’s many twists and turns leave audience confusedBy
Alicia Cheak
Daily Bruin Contributor
Lately, it seems as if stories dealing with the human condition
always end with a question mark. There is no character development,
no epiphany and if there are moments of clarity, they soon dispel
as the imperfections return. Life is no better than when the story
began, and sometimes it is worse.
"Hunting Humans," a black comedy written by Richard Thomas, made
its Los Angeles premiere at the West Coast Ensemble Feb. 7,
bringing with it all the characteristic paranoia, secrets,
self-deception, anxiety and meaninglessness of modern day life. The
play raises intriguing emotions among its odd ensemble, but,
despite powerful acting, never comes to a real conclusion.
The scene opens with four friends who have gathered in an
Atlanta hotel room, supposedly orchestrated by a fifth, who
recently passed away of some inexplicable disease. The room becomes
the arena for the four men who set their exaggerated personalities
off against one another and deal with some heavier issues along the
way.
Lump, having had a short-lived moment in show business, is
trying to hold on to his career and that means accepting a job
dressed up as an orange. Rev, the pill-popping doctor, is paranoid
about what he believes is a conspiracy of Big Brother-like entities
watching over him. Jay-Mac is supposedly a powerful financial
consultant whose reckless gambling habit wins him $10,000 in 20
minutes and costs him $40,000 in the next.
And finally, there is the leader of the pack. It isn’t explicit
what Fick does for a living, but he exudes a serenity that makes
his friends nervous. Decked in Armani and armed with a smooth
accent, he tells the others he’s "out of the business" and nothing
more so one can only surmise what it is.
In the first scene, everyone thinks everyone else is doing fine,
or at least, would like to think so. It’s obvious that they are not
there for spiritual experience but they manage to corner themselves
in. But just when each gets close enough for a confrontation, a
wisecrack usually dispels the tension. Lump hits the target when he
says "I don’t want to know." The men are fidgety and defenses are
up as they proceed to have one last game in honor of their departed
friend.
Despite all the loudness of their banter, there is a silent fury
within each man. And perhaps it is the evasiveness among the
characters which makes the play so difficult to follow. There are
so many twists and turns that the men’s descriptions of their lives
become just plain confusing.
Their matter-of-fact attitude, however, is disarming  the
audience is either extremely still or lets out an uneasy chuckle.
Perhaps it is these moments when the characters realize or confront
their vulnerability. Of course, it is never clear if it has an
effect because no sooner do they slip into this emotional calm do
they move out of it. The absurdity, violence and paranoia return
and the cycle begins again.
Truth, or what one of the characters refers to as
"clairvoyance," shows itself momentarily and then is brushed off by
laughter. For example, when Vic takes out a knife and is about to
slit Mac’s throat, the cellular phone rings. Moments like these
make the entire experience exhausting. The audience is never
allowed to ride the tension through its course and one comes out
knowing that there is a serious issue under all of the humor, but
unable to fully grasp it.
"Humans" has some of the undertones of Edgar Ellen Poe’s morbid
"Fall of the House of Usher." Especially eerie is how the last
scene of "Humans" echoes Poe’s. The foundations have been unstable
for a long time but the inhabitants, sensing the decay, continue to
deny it. And it isn’t long before it all comes crashing down.
The one thing which is clear is the actors’ ability to deliver
the characters despite the density of the play. Especially dynamic
is Rev’s paranoia set against Vic’s repose. Frankie Como, who plays
Rev, mesmerizes the audience with the antics of a tense and violent
paranoid. Michael Dinelli’s mysterious Fick is forbearing with an
underlying intensity that is ready to reveal itself when necessary.
What’s amazing is how each actor is able to intrude in the other’s
space while remaining emotionally distant. They successfully show
that the characters’ communication doesn’t go beneath the
surface.
The story is a roller coaster ride, alternating ludicrous with
the macabre. The audiences’ emotions wane and ebb, laughing at one
point and engrossed at another. Perhaps it is the nature of black
comedies, but the fact still remains that once the story is done,
one leaves the theater wondering what the entire experience was all
about.
THEATER: "Hunting Humans" runs at the West Coast Ensemble
through March 29. Tickets are $15 for students. For more
information, call (213) 525-0222.
Bob Bayles
"Hunting Humans," a black comedy, stars (from left) Frankie
Como, Michael Cole Dinelli, Jerry Kernion and Robert Gantzos.