Review: 'Heart Attack'
Lovable loser finds support: a world premiere comedy at Detroit Rep
By John Quinn
"Dart" Hardiman's career is dying, and his life is flashing before his eyes. The poor sap spends 11 years as an unsuccessful stand-up comedian before he gets his big break. But, taking the stage in Vegas on a "Last Comic Standing" style TV show, he keels over with a heart attack before his monologue – all caught live for the viewing audience.
So that's where we catch up with Dart in R.W. Burda's comedy, "Heart Attack," in its world premiere production at Detroit Repertory Theatre. He's returned to his seedy New York flat to pack up his material and move in with his mother. But he can't go quiet into that good night. He's surrounded by women – the girl from upstairs, a plumber, the ship that passed in the night 13 years ago – and is literally surrounded by posters of his personal muse, Marilyn Monroe. In her own way, each visitor contributes perspective to the failure he has experienced, and possible answers to, "What next?" "Heart Attack" is about winners and losers and whether the difference is all in one's material.
The axis upon which this little play revolves is the hapless Dart, played by Michael Hodge, who returns to the Detroit Rep stage for the first time in 12 years. He nicely portrays a performer in despair, crushed, but unable to give up the comic mask. It is regrettable that the show's blocking frequently hampers a full exploration of his character. Awkward furniture placement forces him to deliver big chucks of soliloquy to either the upstage or stage left walls. Even dialogues with his feminine visitors become mere conversations which are not opened up to the audience.
A change of costumes, wigs and accents allows two actresses to serve as Dart's eight visitors. Detroit Rep veteran Leah Smith is Ms.Odd ("Woman #1, 3, 5 and 7"), while newcomer Kelly Komlen is Ms. Even ("Woman # 2, 4, 6 and 8"). Assigning numbers to characters seems to guarantee some anonymity in the play. But, while each character has a name and personality, on the whole who they are is less important than what they have to say. I mean, can YOU name the nine Muses in Greek mythology? Suffice it to say, the ladies are deft enough to delineate each character as a unique individual. Listen carefully. You might learn something.
Playwright Burda has a bio so interesting that it reads like a script. He is currently teaching in Heidelberg, where I imagine teaching Shakespeare to students whose first language is not English is a lot like teaching Shakespeare in most American universities. "Heart Attack" is not his first play; we hope it won't be his last.
"Heart Attack" Staged Thu.-Sun. by the Detroit Repertory Theatre, 13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit, through Dec. 30, with a special New Year's Eve performance. Tickets: $20. For information: 313-868-1347 or http://www.detroitreptheatre.com
The Bottom Line: The always adventurous Detroit Rep gives this new play an adequate birth, but doesn't let it achieve its full potential.
Preview: 'The Life'
MSU first university to present musical about prostitution and redemption
Compiled by Donald V. Calamia
Most university undergraduate theater programs seem content with producing family-oriented shows that are proven audience pleasers. One well-known and respected program, however, is about to break the mold by staging "The Life," an adult musical depicting the seedy life of prostitutes and pimps in New York City's Times Square.
The musical, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Ira Gasman, is a joint production by the Michigan State University School of Music and the Department of Theatre. It has never been produced by any other university, and this is its first production in Michigan.
To help prepare for the upcoming production, director Rob Roznowski did research on the "world's oldest profession" by traveling to New York this past August and observing firsthand how prostitutes and pimps carry on their business.
"My first day on the streets, I was chased away by a pimp who thought I was a cop," said Roznowski, who is also assistant professor of theatre at MSU. "As I was running down the street, I yelled back at him, 'I'm not a cop, I'm a director.' I was terrified to go back at three in the morning, even though I was in a nice neighborhood in midtown Manhattan."
After a short time, Roznowski gained the trust of the people he was observing and he developed a better understanding of the reality of their life.
"What shocked me the most was that the hookers were the same age as my students. It really upset me," he said. "My goal is to bring the empathy that I felt to the actors and (thereby) to the audience. The musical doesn't romanticize or sensationalize prostitution, but gives a realistic view of the life."
Although most of the characters are trapped in the life they lead, the production is an inspiring exploration of how friendship can be an escape from squalid surroundings, Roznowski said.
"The Life" is narrated by a street hustler, Jojo (played by Frank Williams), who introduces the audience to a Times Square of the early 1980s. As the show progresses, the audience gets introduced to a slew of prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers — among them, Queen (Sharriese Hamilton) and Sonja (Bonique Johnson).
The music, according to Raphael Jimenez, associate conductor of orchestras, who is leading the MSU Jazz Band I for the musical, is extremely hot and intense. "It's not typical musical material. It's mostly funk and jazz."
The collaboration between the departments, Roznowski said, adds a new dimension to the production. "It allows the actors and singers to learn from one another. Putting the music first, the students aren't afraid to attack this edgy material."
It's a nice collage of people, Jimenez added. "We are working with a very diverse group of students – in race and in talent."
"The Life" Staged Thu.-Sun. by the MSU School of Music and the Department of Theatre at the Fairchild Theatre, located at the southeast corner of Farm Lane and Auditorium Rd., East Lansing, Nov. 17-20. Tickets: $17.50. For information: 517-432-2000 or http://www.theatre.msu.edu
