At long last, there appears to be light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, in terms of Atlanta theaters resuming some semblance of live, in-house programming later this fall. With several big Broadway shows scheduled to reopen in September, at least a few local companies are already following suit by announcing plans for their upcoming 2021-2022 seasons.
If I never see another Zoom script reading or prerecorded YouTube staging, it’ll be too soon, frankly — but, for now, it’s still “full-stream” ahead.
The LGBTQ-focused Out Front Theatre is commemorating Gay Pride Month by offering encore presentations of four of its previous streaming programs from the past year, including the musical revues “Chromatic Cabaret,” “Nearly Naked Cabaret” and “Role Reversal Cabaret,” plus the two-character drama “Jerker” (more about that one shortly).
Also on the lineup, most notably, and available to stream for the first time, is a rather primitively videotaped performance from its March 2020 production of another two-hander, “warplay,” which kind of brings me full-circle, in effect. I caught a Sunday matinee of it the weekend everything shut down, making it the last live show I would see for more than a year.
Written by J.C. Lee, directed by Justin Kalin, and running just over an hour in length, “warplay” purports to reimagine the ancient Greek story of Achilles and Patroclus, cherished friends and conflicted soldiers first introduced in Homer’s Trojan War epic “The Iliad.” Here, the setting is a dilapidated playground/battleground of sorts (scenery by Danyale Taylor), and the modern-dressed characters are known only as A (Gregory Piccirilli) and P (Andy Stanesic).
As thunder — or is it artillery fire? — rumbles in the distance, they grapple with issues of “male intimacy” and “toxic masculinity.” We gradually start picking up bits and pieces about their upbringings and family histories, but Lee’s non-linear narrative structure complicates any emotional connection to the characters or a better understanding of their motives. Replete with mysterious notes from the future and spectral visions from the past, “warplay” tends to get a little carried away by its own heavy-handed self-importance.
To his singular credit, however, Piccirilli (an actor unfamiliar to me) grounds the drama with a palpable sense of urgency and relevance. And he serves the same purpose in the grand scheme of Out Front artistic director Paul Conroy’s digital version of the aforementioned “Jerker” (by Robert Chesley), too, portraying one of two men (Tyshawn Gooden plays the other) who engage in an anonymous phone-sex relationship in early-1980s San Francisco.
While their initial conversations include a lot of explicit language and detailed descriptions of various sexual fantasies, Conroy is mindful to keep the most graphic aspects of their interactions under the covers, as it were — and his split-screen format effectively underscores the detached nature of the play. They eventually develop a more personal bond, but the period setting isn’t a coincidence. No sooner do they start making vague references to the impending AIDS crisis than one of them suddenly comes down with a foreboding cough.
The show is photographed and edited by the talented folks at SaturnBlu Productions, a company responsible for such previous streaming projects as Theatrical Outfit’s “A Hundred Words for Snow,” those Out Front cabarets, and numerous Atlanta Ballet programs. Although nothing can truly replace the experience of a live theater performance, their work over the last year has provided the next best thing.
THEATER REVIEW
“warplay” and “Jerker”
Available for streaming through June 30 (along with “Chromatic Cabaret,” “Nearly Naked Cabaret” and “Role Reversal Cabaret”). $10 per show. 404-448-2755, www.outfronttheatre.com.
Bottom line: Actor Gregory Piccirilli distinguishes a pair of two-character dramas.
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