Review by Chris Cassone
Can modern day men be friends? I mean, close, really good friends? Can they, ahem, love each other without the "G" word bandied about? Most importantly, can they break up, grieve and then make up with the "I love you" phrase being said?
In his absolutely spot-on two act play, Ben Abbott reminds us that men throughout history loved each other platonically, probably with a stronger love than their wives. In fact, it wasn't until the Twentieth Century did we start to get gun shy about overt heterosexual male love. So, maybe it's time we dropped the guard and brought back Bromance.
And he leads us to this conclusion with a thoughtful, clever, at times difficult, at other times, tender must-see comedy. What's a man to do when the girls all meet at his house for their book club, bringing their husbands in tow. Forced to get a long, they resort to the lowest common denominator, football. When David's sister-in-law brings over her new beau, Adam, the pressure is on for all to get along.
An amazing thing happens to David. As he and Adam take to each other over their love of the Beatles, he realizes what has been missing in his life was a plain, ol' male friend. It seems it's not that easy anymore. Generating a same sex friendship has a lot of baggage in our present day, whether or not you want to admit it. But David, played quite well by Sean Dube, works his way through it with our help. Yes, the audience is privy to his innermost thoughts as David (and others) breaks the fourth wall and presents his case directly to us. His sarcasm and wit were enjoyable to behold as the "wives" are constantly expecting immediate normalcy and he just wants to grow into a friendship at his own speed.
The "men" all deal with who they are around a TV screen of a game. "What game?" asks Adam, a sports neophyte. "Why, the quarter-finals," offers Jake, the loveable lunkhead of a brother-in-law. Played by Tim Trobec, Jake offers the perfect comic relief from the rest of the egg-shell walking that everyone is doing. He walks into every sensitive situation with a jock's naivete. Soon, everyone realizes he's not at all that different and after he finally gets that Billy, played masterfully by Jon Paul Burkhart, is gay, he goes through a mid-life transformative guilt trip over his perceived homophobia. His change was a joy after he hits a gay bar with Billy and his husband, coming into a new awareness, most noticeable with his medallions and sunglasses.
The "wives," led by Alyssa Klein as Julia, along with Morgan Benson (Erica,), try to dissuade Melanie Uba (Kelsey,) from breaking up with Adam, assuming that the entire ecosystem of their friendships will collapse.
No spoilers but platonic love wins out when we least expect it, and the cast works so well together pulling it off. Director Morris Schorr did wonders with a very simple set and stage, demanding that a mature audience only need the characters and the script to get the story. Yes, they broke the fourth wall, but it was consistent and almost expected after a while. Rather like Groucho, doing an aside to the audience.
He also had several very clever techniques in the production. To give the sense of a bunch of swirling, running and screaming kids all playing around the house, the actors pretended they saw them while the soundman piped a very identifiable "cavalry charge" with horse galloping and bugle calls. He also utilized the Beatles as scene bumpers, with lyrics ("Nowhere Man," "I'm A Loser," etc.) that punctuated the emotions. Very clever.
I want to meet Ben Abbott, the author, as we seem to be brothers from other mothers. Beatles, men friends from whom I need more, and yes, the need for a platonic relationship. Cicero and Atticus, Sherlock and Watson, Mick and Keith. Adam and David.
Again, if you are reading a review here, you only have a limited time to get off your couch, forget that binge (it will be waiting when you return,) and get out to the SkyPilot Theater in Hollywood to see Buddies.
SkyPilot Theatre Company, 905 Cole Theatre, 905 N. Cole Ave., Hollywood 90038. Buddies runs through May 4
th; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. Dark on April 20, Easter Sunday. Admission $40; online ticketing
http://skypilottheatre.com Street parking.