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DAILY VARIETY
by
Steve
Oxman
Larry Gold's play, "The Sons of Lincoln," is a bizarre
conglomeration of screechy racist rants and small-scale power
struggles. Meandering through the first act in narrative fits
and starts, the production at the Lillian Theater gathers
enough steam in its second half to become theatrically exciting,
not so much because of the play, which remains undisciplined
if occasionally provocative, but due to Valerie Landsburg's
vibrant direction of an exciting, explosive cast.
The title character of Lincoln, played by Bill Fagerbakke
("Coach"), is a race-baiting school administrator in Glendale
who plans to launch a congressional campaign with the help
of his crew of motley youths, called "The Corporate Coalition
of True White America." This group consists of the inarticulate
Skull (Jonathan Avildsen), nerdy and needy Floss (Chad Allen),
buff and dim-witted actor Dante (Lawrence Monoson), and, the
newest recruit, college-educated Pinch (Tony Colitti), whose
clean-cut look and mixed racial heritage make him Lincoln's
newest favorite while inspiring exceeding jealousy in the
others. Aside from some confusingly staged flashbacks that
show us some of Lincoln's first meetings with these fatherless
disciples, the first act does little more than set up the
group's dynamics. Hanging out at the group's clubhouse-like
basement, each member attempts to gain some standing in relation
to the others, either through a manipulation of the fraternity's
rules, by threatening to inform Lincoln of another's disloyal
words, or by picking up a baseball bat and seeming willing
to bash in someone's head. Lincoln has arranged for a television
talkshow producer to put his group of followers on the air,
certain that this will draw him significant votes. (He also
seems to have some underhanded plans, never clearly delineated,
that will fool the voters into thinking he's a unifying force
rather than a divisive one.)
The producer, J.J. Stiggs (Joel Polis), is thrilled with the
entertainment value these guests will provide and comes to
prepare them for the show. The second act is mostly a kind
of rehearsal for the TV appearance, and the four "sons of
Lincoln" jockey for position as the most prominent spokesman
for their cause. Their primary foil is Calvin Love (Glynn
Turman), a black former actor whom Stiggs is trying to set
up as a talkshow host. Stiggs and Love -- the Jewish producer
and the minority actor -- have a power struggle all their
own, one which Gold seems to have a stronger handle on and
that comes across with great force and specificity. Their
issues are perhaps more accessible, and therefore more disturbing,
than the more obvious bigotry of the younger characters. Despite
a fully realized set from Douglas Smith, the play is not genuinely
realistic, and Landsburg keeps it moving at a rapid-fire pace
that smoothes over many of the play's clunkier transitions.
Above all, though, what makes this unpleasant material watchable
is the acting, which has a constant energy reminiscent of
the style of Chicago's Steppenwolf company. Allen and Avildsen
are excellent as Floss and Skull, the two close friends
who are in this clearly for the kinship more than anything
else. Lawrence Monoson gets to deliver a very amusing, long
monologue and brings some much-needed humor to the character's
naivete. These three actors often bound about the stage in
"controlled chaos," as Stiggs refers to the talk show business.
Sometimes the physicality can be distracting and on occasion
the actors can seem to be working a bit too hard, but their
energy also gives the play its powder-keg theatricality. As
the more proper Pinch, Colitti doesn't get to show off quite
as much, but he portrays very effectively that his character's
an outsider among outsiders. Fagerbakke is physically imposing
-- he towers over the others -- but he doesn't project enough
seductive charisma for the role. Polis is highly convincing
as the scavenging producer who does what he can to justify
his bottom-feeding. Best of all, though, is Turman, who provides
just the right note of bemusement to make his dialogue with
the ignorant youths compelling instead of purely pedantic.
It's a performance of searing intelligence, and this would
be a far better play were it re-shaped to put Turman's Calvin
Love at the center.
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