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Theatre Journal 54.1 (2002) 149-150



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Performance Review

The Dying Gaul

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The Dying Gaul. By Craig Lucas. Intiman Theatre, Seattle. 14 August 2001.

The Dying Gaul is a complex modern tragedy about the horrific consequences of loss and betrayal set in 1995 Hollywood. By exercising tight control over the driving emotional journey of the play and by using crisp minimalist staging, Bartlett Sher, Intiman's Artistic Director, clarified the intentions behind the actions of Robert, a grieving screenwriter; Jeffrey, an aggressive bisexual film producer; Elaine, his envious and vicious wife; and Foss, a personally involved therapist. Sher's fascinating work revealed a deep understanding and appreciation of Lucas's perspective on the human condition and became essential to the success of the production.

The central story of The Dying Gaul focuses on Robert who is in a suicidal state because his lover and agent Malcolm has succumbed to AIDS. Turning to his therapist Foss's advice to seek some solace through Buddhism and by seeking support online in chat rooms, Robert attempts to reconcile his life after it is further set in turmoil by Jeffrey's pragmatic offer to buy and develop Robert's screenplay for one million dollars only if the central relationship in the project is changed from a homosexual to a heterosexual one. By agreeing to sell-out to Jeffrey's ideas on the script changes because he needs the money, Robert's turmoil only increases. [End Page 149] First, he succumbs to Jeffrey's sexual advances, then to Elaine's envious and deeply disturbing impersonation of Robert's dead lover over the internet. Finally, when Robert discovers Elaine's ruse, he takes shocking revenge on her and her husband without consequence or remorse.

On the surface, The Dying Gaul appears to be a psychological Hitchcockian thriller meant to critique Hollywood. However, The Dying Gaul is much more than that. It is essentially about how the nature of deep grief and betrayal can make characters such as Robert, Jeffrey, and Elaine vicious and destructive. Lucas's theme suggests that most individuals may be influenced by the Greek concept of Ate (the mythological figure who induced rash and ruinous actions), not forgiveness and redemption, when confronted by terrible loss. In Sher's scintillating production, this theme was so clear that its disturbing comment on the human condition became upsetting and impossible to ignore.

By employing Andrew Jackness's beautifully spare set with its shiny black floor, upstage left and right somber gardens, hidden swimming pool in which Robert demonstrated his Hollywood immersion, and three movable rectangular doorways that served to symbolize stages of growth, regression, or depth, Sher was able to vary the playing spaces called for by the play. Mary Louise Geiger's lighting sharply defined the space and highlighted important moments while keeping the mood and atmosphere chilling and appropriately mysterious. Stephen LeGrand's sound design enhanced the mood with its eerie bass rumblings and high-pitched strings. Most importantly, the sound design included amplification of Elaine's and Robert's voices during their online chat room encounters. This effect separated their voices from reality and enabled me to imagine that I was hearing their thoughts while they composed words on their laptops.

On the stage, Sher's four terrific actors were able to create an engaging rhythm that propelled the story to its exciting climax. Jay Goede's portrayal of the playwright Robert revealed a tortured soul still so encompassed with grief that it was believable that he would allow the powerful Jeffrey to seduce him, fall for Elaine's chat room imitation of his dead lover, and destroy Elaine in revenge. Myra Platt's Elaine, though not helped by Candice Donnelly's presentable but unsophisticated costuming, was believable as both the lonely and under-challenged Hollywood housewife and the wickedly intelligent con artist who could pull off the online impersonation. Laurence Ballard was bold and masterful as Jeffrey, whose sexual appetite demanded both men and women and whose other essential needs included a wife, a nuclear family, and an outrageous business demeanor. David Pichette as Foss, Robert's...

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