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A CurtainUp Review
I Could Say More

" Think of him as dead. It's so much harder to mourn when the person is still alive. Do what I used to do. Picture the service. Write your eulogy. And imagine the sound of a big shovelful of dirt hitting the top of his coffin. Used to work for me every time. — - Skip
I Could Say More currently at the Hudson Guild Theatre, is a curious, if occasionally confounding exploration of how couples can intermingle and overlap in a Hamptons home over the course of just a few days.

Despite its flaws, there is plenty to appreciate. Chuck Blasius's writing (he also acts and directs) is notable for its ability to blend wit and melancholy. Most impressive is the rapidity and clarity with which the script establishes all nine of the play's characters unique voices, as well as the dynamics of'the relationships. Most of these are plagued by troublesome histories, so it doesn't take long for discontent to creep into the dialogue in the form of biting quips, and often outright attacks.

The acting is uniformly solid. Grant James Varjas's brinsg believability to the hard-drinking, pill-popping Phil with a combination of shakiness and snarkiness. Kate Hodge demonstrates how to flesh out a character. Her Lila at first spews out seemingly unforgivable vitriol but later seems to atone for this with a palpable sense of guilt.

More than half of the characters in the play are gay males, which is less relevant in terms of story than one might expect. It is not that gayness doesn't come up a lot in conversation but that LBGT politics don't surface too frequently. For the most part, the sexual preferences of the characters are interchangeable.

The play's most problematic aspect is its unabashed exclusivity, which it shares with its Hamptons beach house setting. There's an insularity that's especially evident in the humor. Dyson, the reckless young renegade, (played with endearing aloofness by Frank Delessio) arrives onstage in a Nirvana T-Shirt, part of what is meant to be received as a transgressive presentation but comes off more like lazy costume design.

The direction encourages overlaps in dialogue as different characters inhabit different parts of the house. This is presumably done in an attempt at projecting realism but tends to feel too experimental though it does at times help the actors shine and the writing to flow. The wit is undeniably there. Too bad it too often strives too hard to be special.

I Could Say More
By Chuck Blasius
Directed by Chuck Blasius
Cast: Chuck Blasius (Carl), Brett Douglas (Drew), Brandon Smalls (Jason), Grant James Varjas (Phil), Frank Delessio (Dyson), Keith McDermott (Skip), Monique Vukovic (Rakel), Kate Hodge (Lila), Robert Gomes (Joe)

Stage Manager: Katy Moore
Costume Desinger: Esther Colt Coats
Lighting Designer: Brian Tovar
Sound Design: Roger Anderson
Scenic Designer: Clifton Chadick
Running Time: 150 minutes with intermission
Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 W 26th St, New York, NY
From 1/11/14; opening 1/13/14; closing 2/01/14.
Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 7
Tickets: $18
Reviewed by Tyler Plosia based on January 13th, 2014
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