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A CurtainUp Review
Warrior Class
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"He scared the hell out of us. My family. My dorm. Me. We didn’t know what he was going to do. It was the worst time of my entire life."— Holly
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David Rasche
(Photo: Carol Rosegg) |
Warrior Class clocks in at 90 minutes, but it’s really a 60-minute play that has been lengthened by Evan Cabnet’s direction, which favors long pauses; and David Rasche’s portrayal of political mastermind Nathan Berkshire, which comes complete with mumbled words, and dangling sentences. If this is realism, the play could do with a good dose of theatrical illusion.
Julius Weishan Lee (Louis Ozawa Changchien) is an up-and-coming state assemblyman looking to run for Congress. Aside from a perceived vulnerability in his Asian ethnicity, he believes he’s in for smooth sailing, especially after he gave an apparently terrific speech in the wake of 9/11.
But Nathan, his handler, has found out that while in college, Julius had a messy breakup with his girlfriend, Holly (Katharine Powell), which resulted in some inexcusable and politically inconvenient stalking. In the opening scene, Nathan tries to get Holly to sign papers affirming that nothing unusual happened in their relationship. But Holly, whose husband needs a job, has other thoughts on the matter.
At first, Julius resists becoming the victim of extortion. Nathan and Holly spend lots of time bluffing and producing hidden trump cards until it finally becomes apparent who has the better hand. Although this may increase the suspense, it does leave one wondering why Nathan and Holly don’t lay out their cards at the very beginning.
The central conflict is between Holly and Julius, and the best scene is the one they have together. But most of the scenes are between Nathan and Julius or Nathan and Holly. Which leads one to believe Lin is mostly interested in Nathan’s political shenanigans.
Nathan is an aging, over-the-hill political hack who seems so weary and debilitated that it’s a miracle he makes it to the end of the play. In fact, despite his wily mind and ruthless strategies, it’s hard to imagine why the young and idealistic Julius has put his future in the hands of a corrupt has-been.
Lin clearly has studied the political scandals of our time and tried to model Warrior Class after them. Still his play does not always ring true. Even after the whole story has finally been revealed, one wonders whether showing up at an ex-girlfriends classes, hanging your backpack on a tree along a bridle path her horse takes and calling her parents to tell them you’re’ going to kill yourself is really such awful behavior it would threaten an election. Surely politicians have lived through a lot worse.
Although there’s plenty of action in the back story, most of the action in the actual play takes place around various tables, in different homes and restaurants. And there’s lots of talk about what happened, what might happen and what shouldn’t happen.
There’s also a good deal of talk about interesting people who never appear onstage. Nathan has a daughter in a a halfway house. Holly’s husband is not only out of work; he’s also a philandering cheat. Julius’s wife has a miscarriage.
If Lin had been as interested in his characters as human beings as he is concerned with them as political players, Warrior Class might have been much more intriguing, and even moving. As it is, it’s politics as usual.
Editor's Note: In fairness to the play, it met with enough enthusiasm to extend for a week, from its originally scheduled August 10th e.s.
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Warrior Class by Kenneth Lin Directed by Evan Cabnet Cast: Louis Ozawa Changchien (Julius), Katharine Powell (Holly) and David Rasche (Nathan). Sets: Andromache Chalfant Costumes: Jessica Pabst Lighting: Japhy Weideman Sound: Jill B C Du Boff Stage Manager: Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes eScond Stage McGinn/Cazale Theater, 2162 Broadway, at 76th Street, (212) 246-4422, From 7/11/12; closing 8/19/12. Monday - Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 2pm and 7:30pm. Tickets: $54 Reviewed by Paulanne Simmons August 7th |
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