The first act of Aurora Theatre’s “Gray Area” contains some of the sharpest and funniest comedy we’ve seen in quite a while. But that only makes it all the more disheartening when the second act becomes a bombastic and leaden drama.
The center of attention in John Ahlin’s play is a widely syndicated theater critic named Farragut, the so-called “pundit of putdowns.” In director Sherri D. Sutton’s Aurora production, he’s portrayed by the gifted Glenn Rainey, who opens the show with a truly clever and skillfully calibrated litany of sardonic quips. (I might have been tempted to keep a lot of them for my own future reference, had I taken faster notes.)
At one point, the urbane Farragut equates the decline of theater as an art form to the Civil War re-enactments of stereotypical Southern “dunderheads,” three of whom take decisive action by kidnapping him and holding him hostage in the woods to contemplate the error of his preconceptions.
No one claims it will be easy. “Your collective intelligence is rich in potential,” deadpans Farragut, likening the situation to “Hee Haw” by way of Samuel Beckett.
Bart Hansard is terrific as Keith, their well-read ringleader, complementing Rainey step for step in what initially promises to be a balanced battle of wits between amazing minds. Keith knows his Shakespeare and he can carry on entire conversations about iconoclasm, “semantic conundrums” and the nuances of irony. Eventually, a few of his own assumptions about Farragut are challenged.
As Keith’s redneck cohorts, Bryan Brendle and Scott Warren supply a level of antic buffoonery that’s undeniably amusing at first, not so much confounding stereotype as confirming it. As his character is written, Warren’s performance is fairly one-note, but in a lovely moment of quiet observation, Brendle delivers a moving speech about Civil War photographer Matthew Brady that catches us off guard.
Like many others in his line of work (trust me), Farragut has a reputation for "hating everything." Although it ought to go without saying, it's reassuring to be reminded by him that critics are supposed to be critical. That's their job and it doesn't mean they don't yearn for more occasions to write reviews in the form of "valentines."
I sensed a rare valentine brewing myself, for what it’s worth. But then “Gray Area” comes to a screeching halt by turning serious, losing all and regaining none of its crackling momentum. The jolt is jaw-dropping, as interminable debates ensue about racism and slavery, heritage and freedom, Yankees and Confederates.
What avid theatergoer can honestly admit he’s never felt like leaving a bad show at intermission? This could be the only time you may wish you’d walked out on a very good one.
Theater review
“Gray Area”
Grade: B+ (Act 1); C (Act 2).
Through Oct. 30. 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays; 10 a.m. Wednesday (Oct. 26). $16-$30. Aurora Theatre, 128 Pike St., Lawrenceville. 678-226-6222. auroratheatre.com.
Bottom line: By turns great and grating.
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