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Friends land on 'Lonely Planet'
(by Herb Hammer - November 11, 2011)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
Friends land on 'Lonely Planet'
As we step into Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's River Street Playhouse, we find the walls of the stage covered with maps. The sign on the counter explains, "Jody's Map Store." And there he is, Jody, alone in the store he never leaves.
"Lonely Planet," Steven Dietz's tightly wound, two-character play, has much to say about maps but more to say about the human condition. Jody has one friend, though by the look of things, he would rather his friend, Carl, went away.
But Carl comes back and then leaves again, running off to one of his imaginary jobs. He tells simple stories about being an art restorer at a museum, the owner of an auto glass shop and a tabloid reporter, among other occupations. In his whimsical way, he admits to lying about all of it.
Mr. Dietz, with his skill for detail, allows us to wander through Carl's relationship to his maps. Is Mexico actually larger than Greenland? Do flat maps carry the true shapes of the world? Pondering the dozens of maps could be endless. Are these maps a metaphor for something else or just a "map game" Jody keeps playing, sequestered in his low-end-of-town store?
Mr. Dietz plays a guessing game with us, allowing Carl to be the comic while Jody remains the straight man. What is going on?
One day a chair is found sitting in the center of the store. Before long, more chairs turn up. Then Carl arrives with his arms loaded with even more chairs, abandoned chairs about to fill the store.
Did we know what the author had in mind from the start? I think so. We realize early that Carl is bringing in chairs once belonging to those who have died of AIDS, though the word AIDS is never spoken.
The flamboyant Carl is suddenly the gentle person we knew he would become. And though Jody spends a lot of time reliving his dreams, he's actually a frightened, kind soul, afraid to be tested in spite of Carl's urging.
The conclusion could be done in any number of ways, though Mr. Dietz has chosen the most obvious. His play is more about this unusual relationship between two gay men than it is about HIV. He gracefully avoids sentimentality but does allow us one hug as Carl and Jody are finally clear as to what they mean to each other.
As bad news comes indirectly in the form of a cascade of chairs, "Lonely Planet" encompasses loneliness, terror, futility and, finally, friendship. Surely, this 1995 play is outdated. Yet skilled actors have allowed us to brush that aside.
Don Knepper's Jody is a quietly desperate hermit whose movements are slow and calculated. His fears grow gradually. Mr. Knepper has grasped the soul of this lonely man and has made him live.
Matt Mortensen plays Carl, constantly shifting gears from wild comic to affectionate friend. The young Mr. Mortensen is slow at developing Carl, but, once he does, he's exceptional.
Directing by David Malinowski has its moments. He has allowed exasperating dead air, long pauses which are often maddening. His two characters tend to speak to each other from opposite ends of the stage, creating some discomfort. For the most part, though, Mr. Malinowski does get it, keeping the action poignant without overdoing the sentimentality.
Mr. Dietz has created a believably powerful friendship, and really that's what "Lonely Planet" is all about. It runs through this weekend. Call 440-247-8955 for tickets.
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