Pains of Youth
Written by Ferdinand Bruckner
Adapted by Martin Crimp
Directed by Joshua Altman
at Oracle Theatre, 3809 N. Broadway (map)
thru Oct 13 | tickets: FREE | more info
Read review
Meaningless love/lust triangles
Odradek Theatre i/a/w Oracle Theatre presents
Pains of Youth
Review by Patrick Dyer
When you put a half dozen medical students and a pretty young maid together in a boarding house, you can expect a certain degree of hormonal intrigue. Pains of Youth takes it to an extreme. There are so many love triangles – quadrangles, even – that you might have a hard time remembering just who has the hots for whom.
The show’s press materials indicate that the play is set in the 1920s, but this isn’t mentioned in the program or the dialog. That setting doesn’t fit with the production. I don’t think that a woman graduating from medical school was quite as commonplace back then as this script suggests. Much of the costuming is modern (plaid shirts and jeans) and at one point a cell phone is used as a gramophone. If there’s some meaning behind this blending of eras, it isn’t presented clearly.
The script is riddled with inorganic dialogue, which the cast often struggles to deliver naturally. Joshua Altman directs them to deliver their lines as quickly as possible, it seems, and his nonstop blocking can make you dizzy if you aren’t careful. While this pacing does sustain the energy and keep the run time under two hours, it also causes some potentially interesting moments to get lost amidst the flurry.
What makes this production watchable is a committed cast that fleshes out some memorable characters and relationships. Kevin Duvall steals the stage as Freder, the scumbag whom women find irresistible. His manipulation of Lucy the devoted maid (Megan Chaperon) gets realized particularly well by the two actors. Lapidus plays Marie, the closest thing to a protagonist in this romp, as believably bipolar. Kaitlyn Majoy brings an interesting duality to Desiree, a runaway with suicidal thoughts but also a tortured zest for life.
The climax of the play does finally include a meaningful event following the ceaseless flirtations of the rest of the performance. With a bit more polish, this production has the potential to engross an audience with powerful action and imagery. As it stands, Pains of Youth carries your attention, but doesn’t really carry much weight.
Rating: ★★
Pains of Youth continues through October 13th at Oracle Theatre, 3809 N. Broadway (map), with performances Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 8pm, Sundays 7pm. Tickets are always FREE at Public Access Theatre – reserve your seats now. More information at PublicAccessTheatre.org. (Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes, includes an intermission)
Photos by Kat Quintan
artists
cast
Daniel Desmarais (Petrell), Megan Chaperon (Lucy), Laura Lapidus (Marie), Kelsey Ann Wacker (Irena), Jonathen Wikholm (Alt), Kevin Duvall (Freder), Kaitlyn Majoy (Desiree)
behind the scenes
Josh Altman (director), Martin Crimp (adaptor), Cait Chiou (set design), Michael Sater (lighting), Sarah Jo White (costumes), Kat Quintan (photos), Tony Santiago (stage manager), Naomi Lindh (assistant director, props), Reed Motz (production assistant), Micah Figueroa (fight director), Kevin McDonald (dramaturg), Ashley-Marie Quijano, Jonathen Wikholm (co-producers)
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