The Bad and the Better at The Peter Jay Sharp Theater
The Bad and The Better By Derek Ahonen Directed by Daniel Aukin Reviewed by David Roberts, Chief Critic Theatre Reviews Limited
After the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests at Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan went viral and spawned nationwide and worldwide protests against the one percent who controlled the globe’s wealth and resources, many disenfranchised individuals and groups joined the movement against excessive wealth and claimed to be one of the remaining “ninety-nine percent.”
Ostensibly Derek Ahonen’s “The Bad and the Better” deals with the themes so powerfully exposed by the Occupy Wall Street movement: greedy developers displacing neighborhoods at risk; law and order reigning in anarchy in the streets; loyalties unmasked as betrayals; and honesty heralded by hypocrisy. If many of those themes counterpoint those in Shakespeare’s tragedies, it is no mistake: think “Hamlet” during the final moments of the play.
“The Bad and the Better” is a genre-driven (hardboiled fiction a la Daly, Hammett, and Chandler) masterpiece of writing and acting. Although a plot summary might draw the reader to become audience member, Ahonen’s play is more about cerebral acrobatics than successfully discovering “who done it.” Because ultimately – and this is the rub – it does not really matter who “done” it or to whom it is “done.” What matters most is what the audience member discerns to be right or wrong.
For example, once one gets cozy with the one percent of the world’s disenfranchised, one finds oneself cuddling up to one of the plays more despicable characters Eugene Moretti (David Lanson) who brags at his acceptance speech: “Thank you New York! This confirms the people. The power of the people. The people I am powerful for. Cause you know… I am not an agent of… you know… an agent of the… I’m not an agent… I don’t represent athletes. I represent people. I’m your agent New York. You can call your agent up and I’ll get you great deals. I’m a deal maker. And I’m gonna get to work tomorrow making some deals that are gonna make sure you get the best 99 percent contracts you can possibly get. That’s right. I’m an agent who only takes one percent. I’m a 1 percenter New York. And I’m gonna get you 99 percent deals. Just call me Agent Eugene Moretti: Dealmaker for the people.”
There is no moral comfort zone in Ahonen’s delightfully challenging and complex script. Perhaps Edmond (Chris Wharton) expresses it best: “You don’t know the difference between the bad and the better. You’re gray from head to toe.” It is that tantalizing gray area where the gray matter meets the challenge.
What the Amoralists strive to demonstrate (not teach) is what Edmond realizes midway through the play. This realization is not only daunting; it is life-changing. Whether we know it or not, the only way to confront Lang’s (William Apps) “world we live in” is to come to terms with the fact that all morality (even that which we learned at our mother’s/father’s knee) is de facto ambiguous. Not only is it senseless to attempt to decide what exactly is “right” and what is “wrong.” It is imperative sentient beings begin to question the very meaning of those terms: are they needed? Are they instructive? Why were they constructed and by whom?
Many of us can deal with a modicum of moral ambiguity. In order to survive the twenty-first century, all of us need to deal with moral ambiguity to the max. The Amorialists can help us. “The Bad and the Better” is a good place to start. See it. Let it seep into places of thought unvisited for perhaps a very long time.
THE BAD AN THE BETTER Presented by The Amoralists. Written by Derek Ahonen. Directed by Daniel Aukin. The creative team includes Alfred Schatz (Set Design), Natalie Robin (Lighting Design), Philip Carluzzo (Sound Design), Moria Clinton (Costume Design), Matthew Pilieci (Assistant Director), Whitney Dearden (Stage Manager), Judy Merrick (Prop Master) and Danica Novgorodoff (Artwork).
The cast is comprised of twenty-six actors and features Amoralists ensemble members Byron Anthony, William Apps, Selene Beretta, James Kautz , Nick Lawson, Sarah Lemp, Sarah Roy, Anna Stromberg, Jordan Tisdale, and Vanessa Vache. The cast also includes first time Amoralists actors Clyde Baldo, Reuben Barsky, Penny Bittone, Regina Blandon, Ugo Chukwu, Wade Dunham, Edgar Eguia, Chris Lanceley, David Lanson, Judy Merrick, David Nash, Cassandra Paras, James Rees, Dan Stern, Kelley Swindall, and Chris Wharton.
Performances are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. Performances are at The Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 416 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in New York City. Tickets are $49.95 and can be purchased online at www.TicketCentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200. The running time is 2 hours and 25 minutes including one intermission. The theater is accessible from any train to Times Square/West 42 Street. For more information, visit www.TheBadandtheBetter.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, June 22, 2012
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