I'm a fine one to talk, as a theater critic who's charged with assigning his reviews a letter grade and a one-sentence "bottom line." Still, I often shudder to hear productions described in terms of a lowest common denominator, usually with catchy slogans about being "like (something more famous) meets (something else more famous)."
It doesn't always say much for a show's own originality if it borrows TOO heavily from other sources, and there's a further risk that it may pale in comparison to this or that popular classic. It's rare when one lives up to its marketing as deliciously as Horizon's recent "Avenue Q," which was typically billed as "'Sesame Street' meets 'South Park.'"
Last year's Georgia Ensemble staging of Atlanta playwright Topher Payne's "Tokens of Affection" was promoted as "a 'Parent Trap' for grown-ups," trifling enough given the lightweight premise of the play (if not also the Disney movie).
Payne's latest, "Evelyn in Purgatory," is this year's winner of the Essential Theatre playwriting award and the first production in the company's 14th-annual repertory of new works. He has labeled it "a 'Breakfast Club' for teachers," referring to the John Hughes movie about high-school students who confront and overcome their differences during detention. But it might be just as easily likened to a modern-day "The Crucible," the Arthur Miller Salem-witch-hunt drama that becomes a topic of considerable discussion.
"Purgatory" involves several faculty members forced to bide their time in a Manhattan board of education "rubber room" as they await their various disciplinary hearings. A macho coach (Rial Ellsworth) stands in for Emilio Estevez's wrestling jock; a geeky first-year science teacher (Jon Wierenga) could pass for Anthony Michael Hall's brainy nerd; and each of them is eventually called before an unseen panel to explain their actions and defend their names, not unlike the Miller protagonist John Proctor.
That Payne is no Miller or Hughes doesn't negate the fact that "Evelyn in Purgatory" is his strongest work to date. By his generally flightier standards, it's an uncommonly smart and restrained commentary on the public education system, at least in part. (The play's situation is based on actual practices that have been only recently discontinued.)
Better yet is the ambiguity Payne gives his characters, none of whom is quite what they seem. There's a greater sensitivity to that coach, for example, than first meets the eye. By the same token, a feisty old English teacher (Betty Mitchell) is decidedly less likable the more we learn about her habit of cheating the system to suit her own agenda. The group dynamics are evenly balanced and well-reasoned, as they debate "the truth" and how to define one's "moral compass."
Crisply directed by Betty Hart, the solid cast also features Jo Howarth as an "insubordinate" art teacher and Megan Hayes, especially engaging as an uptight authority figure-turned-giddy love interest.
Amanda Cucher, alas, fails to bring sufficient depth or dimension to the pivotal role of Evelyn, who gradually develops into a shady character to rival "The Crucible's" Abigail Williams. Whether she's also meant as a surrogate Ally Sheedy or Molly Ringwald from "The Breakfast Club" is ultimately a moot point.
"Evelyn in Purgatory" Grade: B Through Aug. 5. 8 p.m. tonight, Monday (July 23), Saturday (July 28) and Thursday (Aug. 2); 7 p.m. Sunday (July 22); 2 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 5). $18-$23. Actor's Express (at King Plow Arts Center), 887 W. Marietta St., Atlanta. 866-811-4111. essentialtheatre.com. Bottom line: "The Breakfast Club" meets "The Crucible."
