| "American
Hero" at the George Street Playhouse
"American Hero" at
the George Street Playhouse
January 30, 2018 - February 25, 2018
103 College Farm Rd., New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Written by Christopher Demos-Brown; Directed by David Saint
Tickets and performance schedule at www.georgestreetplayhouse.org.
There are heroes and then there are heroes.
That seeming incongruity is brought home with searing clarity in Christopher
Demos-Brown's "American Hero," running through February
25 at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick. And while its tone
is opposite that of "The Outsider" (see companion review),
the two plays share a defining trait: they are both steeped in cynicism.
At Paper Mill Playhouse, "The Outsider" skewers politics
with comedy, while "American Hero" takes on the American
military establishment. Both plays speak to the efficacy of Theatre
as a message-medium (and to the quality and variety of New Jersey’s
Regional stages).
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| "American
Hero" at George Street Playhouse. Photo coutesy of George
Street Playhouse. |
"American Hero" opens with
a remarkably vivid battle scene, staged on designer Jason Simms economical
set. Upstage of an interior space, it evokes an Iraqi forest-tangle,
where, later in the play, the harrowing conflict is enacted in more
detail. The scenes depict the heroism from different perspectives:
the first one of clear-cut bravery, the second more nuanced –
still courageous, to be sure, but colored, if not marred, by surrounding
circumstances.
Marine Captain Robert "Rob" Wellman (Armand Schultz) is
awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in that Iraqi encounter.
The citation, we learn, carries multiple privileges and a near-mystical
aura within the military, prompting those in the vetting process to
over-emphasize some of the narrative and omit some, which Rob, after
token resistance, signs off on.
The primary omission is that of US Army Corporal Mary Jean Boudreaux,
without whose participation there is no Medal…and no play. But
there is the fiery Corporal, played with spirit and wit by Laiona
Michelle. (Another common facet of both reviewed plays is the dominance
of the secondary female roles.)
Over the course of a tight 95 minutes we learn much about the outer
and inner lives of Rob and Mary, from their battlefield bond to their
post-Iraq trajectories – his upbeat on the surface, despite
being wheelchair-bound, and hers a downward spiral exacerbated by
her being female, African-American and a lesbian: a triple whammy.
Rob treats his 17-year old daughter Shawn like one of his enlisted
leathernecks, some of whom could probably not do twenty push-ups as
efficiently as Kally Duling does inn her excellent performance. ("Quick
twenty before you go," Rob commands his daughter.) Scenes between
Mary and Shawn, one upon meeting and then later sharing intimacies
(and a doobie) are both heart-warming and amusing.
George Street's artistic director David Saint stages the battle scenes
and the many post-Iraq transitions with seamless efficiency.
John Bolger plays eight roles, including the U.S President, some supercilious
Marine officers and a beat cop. While we know it’s the same
actor, each character is a distinct individual, a credit both to Bolger
and playwright Demos-Brown. Significantly also, Schultz adjusts Rob's
relationships with each of the eight in a multi-faceted performance.
Captain Robert Wellman is a sympathetic character. Or is he?
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