THE BOOK CLUB PLAY – Written by Karen Zacarias; Directed by Brenden Cochran. Produced by Vintage Theatre (1468 Dayton, Aurora) through July 19. Tickets available at 303-856-7830 or VintageTheatre.org.
Put a group of people (friends or not) in front of a camera and ask them to forget it’s there, to “just be yourself,” and you’re asking for trouble. Especially when they actually do forget it’s there. This is the promise of the BOOK CLUB PLAY. A famous director has chosen this particular book club as the prototype for his documentary about the American obsession with book clubs. A camera is installed in the living room of the host to film their meetings for the next three months. And off we go!
Disagreements about the worth of the chosen books, how the books are chosen, personal histories revealed, and a new member with unorthodox views create vivid discussions and lively fun for the audience. The twists and turns are revelatory as this group of friends discovers they didn’t really know each other as well as they thought. As I like to say, “chaos ensues!” This time in front of a camera.
Director Brendon Cochran has pulled together a diverse and complicated group of actors to carry out this exploration of the “normal” book club. The group meets in the living room of Ana (pronounced Aaaaah-na) Smith (Katie Medved) and her only slightly interested in books husband, Robert (Joshua Lamb) (“He’s only here for the food”). Ana is very protective of HER book club, more than a little pompous, but a very discriminating reader. Her husband, on the other hand, rarely finishes the books, would rather watch a game, but likes the people, so he goes along. The other founder of the group is college friend William Lee Nothnagel (Marcus Turner in a rare role). Yes, he is as pretentious as that name. Those three are old college friends from way back. William shares Ana’s discriminating tendencies and prefers to read REAL literature, not just books.
They are joined by Lily Louise Jackson (Shanae Adams) as a work mate of Ana’s and Jennifer McClintock (Min Kyung Kim), another old friend. They are all quite comfortable in their little patterns. Everyone has opinions and the discussion of their books, such as Moby Dick and The Age of Innocence. That is, until Jennifer rashly – without getting Ana’s approval – invites a new person to join them one evening. Alex (Austin Cohen) would be so easy to brush off he and his unorthodox views about books as too radical were it not for the fact that he is a professor of comparative literature at the local college. A little hard to argue with those credentials. Between the camera and the enthusiastic participation of Alex, the book club has hit critical mass.
Every one of these actors brings their A game to this endeavor. They each have distinctive personalities, evident in the first few minutes of conversation. They know each other well enough to know when it is OK to argue or defend a point of view or when to submit to Ana’s superior opinion. They enjoy each other, but at a distance. Their discomfort or excitement at the arrival of a new participant with no agenda, but who is able to verbalize his experience and knowledge, brings a whole new level to the dynamic of the group. The revelations that develop as a result of the new energy are startlingly funny, yet human. You will laugh out loud as this little group comes apart . . . and then back together again.
As usual, the presentation from Vintage is spot on in terms of setting, costumes, lighting and gentle sound. An unforgettable night at the theatre.
A WOW factor of 8.75!!