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The Great Wall
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Fabian, Tse
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By Dave DePino
In the world premiere of David T. Levinson's new dark comedy, The Great Wall, Levinson treads dangerously close to the edge of showing just how dark a comedy can get before it turns ugly. The premise of the work questions people's concept of what the value of human life is. This terrible query morphs into a half-joking offer of millions of dollars which could be used to do good for the needy if one would be willing to take the life of an insignificant person: perhaps a peasant from China. But let's back up.
Mike Solomon (Patrick Fabian) is a very successful advertising/salesman married to a very successful businesswoman (Kristina Lear). They have a young son whom we never see. They are living beyond their means and are in the process of rebuilding a very expensive kitchen in their Brentwood home. Mike is turning 40 and isn't really in the middle of a midlife crisis, he is a midlife crisis ready to explode. He seems to hate everything about his life and the world he lives in. His wife wants to quit work and have another child and this angers him more. His contractor is procrastinating on the kitchen job with expenses escalating. This angers him. His boss angers him. His kid angers him. His best friend Mitchell (Dean Fortunato), whom he really hates, is a gazillionaire and this angers him. But, as angry a person as he is, he is still not a terrible man, just a real, genuine jerk on the verge. Verge of what? Who knows? Anyway, when Mitchell makes the money-for-peasant offer, Mike just files it away in his brain. Soon, a silent, enigmatic Asian man, Hu (Ho-Kwan Tse) - perhaps an insignificant peasant from China - shows up at Mike's door. Unheralded, the strange visitor is taken in as an unwanted houseguest until Mike can get hold of Mitchell to find out how and where to send Hu back.
In addition to the actual plot, Mike also makes many asides and monologue connections with the audience that take us inside Mike's brain. Many have to do with the plot of the play, and some are just silly, inconsequential standup comedy bits which utilize more than a hundred slides that have to do with-- well, nothing pertinent. However, they are really very funny and Fabian's comedic timing and delivery is flawless. Another minus to Levinson's script is that we are sure he is trying to say something very important and we are listening hard, but it just isn't coming through. This is a baby-bathwater case and should be reworked to bring out Levinson's intention, however leaving at least 30 minutes on the cutting room floor.
On the plus side, he has a wonderful flowing dialogue. Fabian has an enormous amount of charisma, stage presence, and ability, but even his character, Mike, isn't a good enough salesman to sell this script. Tse does much with his silent role. Lear does competent work, but the balance of the cast is uneven. Dave P. Moore's direction (also set credit) is crisp and bright, hitting all the right notes, and, along with Brian Fletcher (lights), Jamie Bennett (sound), Nicole Farmarco (costumes/wardrobe consultant) and Shelley Fineman Baruch (video producer), puts forth a slickly packaged production.
Performing at The Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood; Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 7 p.m.; through November 10. Tickets $$25, call 323/960-7774.
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