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Tuesday, September 30, 1997

'Effigies' paralyzes a family's tragic lifestyle

THEATER: Cast lacks the depth for such complex personalities in drama

By Cheryl Klein

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

"Effigies," running through Oct. 15 at Theatre Forty in Beverly Hills, is a play about paralysis - both physical and emotional - and the emotions that surge beneath. Unfortunately, Bea Silvern's world-premiere drama suffers from many of the same problems as its central character.

Seventeen-year-old Davey (Mark B. Hill) has supposedly been paralyzed from the neck down since an accident four years ago. As his parents (Victoria Thompson and Michael Forest) set the table for his birthday party, we see that the entire family is in a warped sort of Neverland.

Davey still pines after his junior high school girlfriend and basks in his little league victories, and his mother even bakes him a cake with those cute number-shaped candles to ring in another empty year.

And just as Davey is an intelligent young man restrained by an almost garishly childlike world, "Effigies" is a dark, psychological family portrait overshadowed by mediocre acting and often awkward dialogue.

At its best, "Effigies" captures the family's rhythms - the inside jokes and quirky routines found in any parent/child interaction - magnified here by Davey's need for 24-hour care. And, as in any family, there's a degree of dysfunction. Both parents are too quick to make everything run smoothly for their son, and Davey throws himself in the middle of the battles that his mom and dad should really work out for themselves.

But the pretense of the loving, though denial-ridden threesome dissolves to reveal pain and manipulation. What makes this year vaguely different from the others is Davey's acceptance into college. Going away to school is his one chance to break away from his parents' constant vigil. Though he hardly seems eager to do this, we know it's the opportunity of a potentially tragic lifetime.

As his father Carl taunts him with the acceptance letter, Davey seems to flick it away with his hand. The audience sees it. Carl sees it. But mother Madge refuses to. From here, emotions erupt, burying the family in years of undiscussed issues. As Carl and Madge face the possibility that their son had deceived them, they must also confront their own superficial marriage and the somewhat Oedipal nature of Madge and Davey's relationship.

Silvern parallels physical and familial stasis in a play that is nothing if not intriguing. The characters' behavioral patterns are rich and tightly woven with mystery. But it's hard to be sure just how much of the family's banter is purposefully odd when Davey's friend Jimmy (Anthony Furlong) steps on stage.

Jimmy is supposedly the typical teen - slang-talking, girl-chasing, motorcycle-riding. Yet, his jargon is clearly not of this decade and perhaps not of this country. Who refers to his dad as "the goober" and uses "bite moose" in place of "back off"?

"Effigies" is billed as a dark comedy, and while the former word certainly applies, the latter fails in the face of pure weirdness. The something's-not-quite-right aura that shrouds the family's life is replicated in the casting/acting/direction. Something in the three components is not quite right. Theatre Forty is a small venue, and "Effigies" is a character-driven play - both of which lend themselves to thoughtful, understated acting.

But Forest is uneven as Carl, alternately a doting Hume Cronin type and a suspicious, brooding, middle-aged man. Hill tries to play Davey younger than he should, even given the character's arrested state. Though all three suffer from juiced-up theatricality, Thompson's Madge is the most severe. During an early performance, Thompson seemed to lose sight of her character completely: When Madge was supposed to be confronting Carl about a past infidelity, she almost giggled her way through the argument.

As the run continues, some of the dramatic inconsistencies may be smoothed out, but it's doubtful that any of the cast will acquire the depth necessary to truly tackle such layered characters. Chances are, "Effigies" will remain a work trapped.

THEATER: "Effigies" runs through Oct. 15 at Theatre Forty at Beverly Hills High School, 241 Moreno Dr. Tickets are $12; $6 for students. For more information, call (818) 789-8499.

THEATRE FORTY

(Left to right) Mike Forest, Mark B. Hill and Victoria Thompson in "Effigies."

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