To be young, gifted and broke...
This is a newish play written by Keith Bunin. It's been acted in several theatres already, but I am going to review the version from LA Theatre Works, recorded on audio CD sometime in late 2003. The cast includes Shirley Knight as TESS ANDERSON ROSE, Hilary Swank as AMELIA, Chad Lowe as WINSTON and Jeremy Sisto as JAIME.
I thoroughly enjoyed this audio play and highly recommend it to anyone who loves any of the actors in the cast. I realized upon listening that Jeremy Sisto is as great an actor when you can't see him as he is when you can.
The story concerns three twenty somethings living poorly in the East Village, near the notoriously bad neighborhood near Avenue B. Winston is an art student who is fanatically knowledgeable about many painters. He seems to be a loner, a real loner, a specialist in loner-ism. He seems unconcerned about any family he might have and doesn't have a girlfriend. Jaime is different...he always has a girl in his life. He's dated many women in the world of art: poets, writers, artists...women who are gifted in some way. His current flame is Amelia, an aspiring singer. Jamie fawns over her, complimenting her constantly about her beautiful face and her angelic voice. He also declares Winston a genius about art, and predicts Winston will be such a success that his paintings will rival those of Picasso, Monet, Degas, etc.
The three reside in a slummy coldwater flat with not even a nice kitchen sink with which to wash the dishes. While Winston is trying to complete art school and work as a librarian and Amelia is struggling to make her singing career more than a dream, Jaime works in a job he hates, showing sumptuous penthouses and condos to the kind of people he detests: rich, spoiled, unappreciative people. "I've lived in this city all my life, and I can't even afford to live here!!!" Jaime laments.
Of the three main characters, Jaime is the one with the most about his history revealed, and the one who seems the most mysterious. His father, a high falutin' art dealer, treated Jaime like shit from the moment the boy was born. Winston was witness to some of the hateful behavior and agrees with Jaime that Jaime's father is a prick. When the old fart dies, Jaime is unexpectedly invited to hear the reading of the will, hoping against hope that the father who seemed to hold him in such contempt, for no reason, might have decided to leave the son with some kind of monetary apology.
Instead, Jaime listens to his late father bequeath the young wife and her two "tow-headed monsters" most of the dough. Jaime's name isn't even mentioned. Post-humous viciousness at its finest, I'd daresay. Like Winston said, "If I had a father like that, I'd try to kill myself too." And yes, Jaime has tried suicide at least one already. I felt for the poor guy. What a life. Your mother dead and your father the biggest asshole on the planet???!!!
It is then that Jaime undergoes a sudden change: he's decided to devote himself to taking care of Winston and Amelia...to see that Winston is a huge success in the art world and that Amelia is a multi-platinum hit maker. Jaime concocts a somewhat brilliant, somewhat idiotic scheme to swindle old Mrs. Tess Anderson Rose (played delightfully by Shirley Knight) out of a nice clump of cash. Jaime, knowing that Winston not only knows a lot about painters, but can copy their paintings as well, convinces the reluctant art student to do a nude portrait of Amelia so that they can pass it off as one of the obscure nudes that Jean Paul Credeaux did back in the early 1900s.
During the creation of the forgery, Amelia and Winston become so close as to share their dreams, doubts, and fears about the paths their lives seem to be taking. Inevitably, they become sexually intimate as well, and it is here that we learn that Amelia has doubts about how sincere Jaime is about his love for her. She prods Winston with questions about Jaime's past lovelife and finds answers she doesn't like, but already knew were true.
In spite of the truth about Jaime, I felt for his character very strongly. He was so lonely and had absolutely no love for himself. There was no way he could love Amelia the way he was supposed to. He had no knowledge of how to do it the right way. Instead, he used a method that worked many times: He latched onto an intelligent, gifted, motivated woman and showered her with flattery and affection...so that she would stay with him. It was all about how his father treated him with such disrespect. I also found it supremely interesting that Jaime was hoping to trap Amelia by getting her pregnant. This is a scheme that is traditionally brewed in the mind of a woman, not a man.
I won't give away any more, but the play is beautifully written and executed. The acting, from all cast members, is top notch. I was impressed by Hilary Swank's nervous, heavy breathing during the scene in which she was disrobing to pose for Winston, and I wonder if she really had to disrobe during the recording of this play!!! LOL
I encourage anyone to get this play and add it to your CD collection. It is great quality entertainment and I hope I see a trend toward radio/audio plays returning. I enjoyed old comedies and dramas from the 1930s to the '50s, and it's nice to see contemporary actors and actresses getting involved in this kind of entertainment!!!
OTHER REVIEWS
Audio Book Cafe Review
GET THE AUDIO CD
Review by Mari Weir May 2004
Song: Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) by The Beach Boys
