Opening Play At STW Has Punch And A Lesson Or Two

By June S. April

STAMFORD — It’s really wonderful when a play “grabs” the audience at the onset.

Though it was long and the ending unsatisfying, Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero – which has opened Stamford TheatreWorks’ new season and continues until October 5 – is nevertheless riveting, funny and well worth seeing.

Typical of STW productions, it is also timely. Issues of police profiling, sexual harassment are addressed as well as dilemmas wherein choices must be made on matters of loyalty, truth and love.

Now in his 40th year, screenwriter and playwright Kenneth Lonergan is one of those talents who looks at life boldly and seeks to show how we can try to cope in these most frightening of times. He doesn’t offer solutions to society’s ills, he offers insights. And he clearly likes the “little, common person” who is struggling to find some sense of both power and pride.

The play is about a young, lonely man who grew up in the shadow of a father who was lauded as a hero. Jeff works as a security guard in a high-rise apartment building in Manhattan. He hungers for approval and self-esteem, but just can’t seem to really attain either, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. In some way, he reminds one of Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, bumbling his way through life.

Athena Karkanis plays Dawn, a naive, idealistic rookie police officer just three months on the force. This talented actor has a fine ear for accents and mannerisms. Her determination to succeed, her over-reaction to situations because she is a female, and her need to be in control are gingerly balanced in both the play and the direction. Choices are presented to her and the audience watches her struggle to make the best decision for herself.

Last seen in the role of the guard in STW’s 2002 production of A Lesson Before Dying, Patrick Moltane will hopefully not be typecast. Both characters were rather hapless individuals, with heroic tendencies. Mr Moltane’s role as Jeff is complex. Not really a pathetic young man, Jeff can be manipulative when it serves his purpose and he is unflinching in trying impress others with the scope of his rather shakey, spotty knowledge. It is Jeff’s ability to find humor in himself and those around him that draws audiences to him. Mr Lonergan does an impressive job of peppering humor into this play.

The tension that fairly exudes from the character of William, the captain of the security business (and Jeff’s boss), is authoritatively played by Royce Johnson. A walking example of high standards and self-rightousness, this role is highly-charged and stops the audience, when moments of William’s fears and concerns are briefly revealed.

There are moments when one would like to take a pin and prick the giant ego that is part of the personality of the Police Officer named, Bill. It becomes a challenge to recognize if he is using his job for personal gains, or if he really does care and is trying to help-out. Jason Pugatch swaggers and intimidates his way through this play, with periodic hints of genuine empathy that have been tempered by years of seeing the uglier side of people. His power game with a working female partner has a strong resonance of truth to it.

The one disappointment in this play is its ending. It is as if Mr Lonergan suddenly said, OK it’s a wrap, and shut it down. Resolution doth not necessarily make a good ending. Why can’t an audience imagine what might happen between the characters? It surely opens doors to discussion of what might be.

The multiple background of STW Artistic Director Steve Karp makes him a most inspiring and excellent director. As an actor, writer, mentor and much more, he has the appreciation of what is entailed to create theater. It shows in the consistently fine directing he brings to each production. He admits to having selected Lobby Hero because it addresses some of the important issues that mark these times: betrayal and integrity.

(Performances continue Tuesday through Saturday at 8 pm, with matinees on Saturdays at 4 and Sundays at 2, until October 5. The theater is on the campus of Sacred Heart Academy, on the corner of Strawberry Hill and 5th Avenue. Call 203-359-4414 or visit www.StamfordTheatreWorks.org for reservations or details.)