Four weeks of eternal damnation at The
Brick Theater’s Hell Festival continued on Aug. 2 with "The
Iron Wig," written and directed by Jonathan Valuckas.
Set in a penthouse apartment (simply evoked by two easy chairs),
"The Iron Wig" relates the downfall of powerful CEO
Martin Kane (Hector Coris), who one day looks at himself in the
mirror, notices he is losing his hair, and locks himself in his
bedroom, refusing to come out until his hairdresser, Pezzo Rodigliani
(Andrew Deichman) administers a restorative treatment.
When Rodigliani arrives at the penthouse, he tells Kane’s factotum,
Clark (Jesse Soursourian), the awful truth behind Kane’s panic:
Kane is wearing a hairstyle invented by Rodigliani’s father centuries
ago in which a highly personalized coiffure is "the spiritual
impression of the personin hair."
In fact, Kane is really Wei Chi Yang, the transferred spirit
of a Chinese warlord who lived 700 years ago. And it is his spirit
that has transformed Kane, once a tough, street-smart punk, into
one of the world’s most influential business moguls.
The problem is that now that his hairstyle is literally going
to pieces, Kane (or rather Wei Chi Yang) will die with his hair.
The plot unravels through some unexpected twists as Valuckas
reveals the darker side of Rodigliani’s profession until the
story comes to its very satisfying ending.
There’s a certain "Alice in Wonderland"-quality to
"The Iron Wig." Just as Lewis Carroll did in his novel,
Valuckas uses faux drama and whimsical fantasy to uncover the
capricious and sometimes evil nature of power, and more importantly,
how power is transferred.
Coris, who has distinguished himself as Rooster in "Annie"
and Snoopy in "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown," both
productions of Brooklyn Family Theatre, has a fine understanding
of how to make evil-doers sympathetic.
Soursourian, as Rodigliani the elder, has both mastered the Italian
accent and made the absurd meaningful and amusing.
Deichman, who played Linus in "You’re A Good Man Charlie
Brown," has given up his blanket for a more sinister role.
Indeed, with his lanky body, long blue robe and goatee, Deichman
would have been a dead-ringer for the devil if he’d only sprouted
horns.
Valuckas, who is also a board member and director with Brooklyn
Family Theatre, says he wrote the play "on and off while
doing shows."
"The play started out as the story of the Romanovs,"
he told GO Brooklyn. "I needed a way to convey the passing
of power. But then I decided that, considering what happened
to the Romanovs in the end, my story was a bit icky."
Valuckas admits that as the play evolved, it no longer fit in
entirely with the Hell theme.
"The father started out much more demon-like," he explains.
"More like Rasputin."
At 40 minutes, "The Iron Wig" is not much longer than
your average television sit-com or sci-fi drama. And its sly
humor, absurd plot and outlandish characters are certainly reminiscent
of popular entertainment. But Valuckas has provided a good deal
of meat beneath the generous seasoning of wit that makes this
play so enjoyable.
In this age of executive machination of the markets, unbounded
accumulation of wealth, and the formidable power wielded by multinational
corporations, it seems not so far-fetched to imagine a supernatural
power at work.
Even if you don’t think much of Ralph Nader, you’ll get a kick
out of this show.
The Hell Festival continues through
Aug. 22. The remaining "The Iron Wig" performances
are Aug. 14 at 8:45 pm, Aug. 18 at 8:15 pm and Aug. 20 at 9:15
pm. Tickets: $10. All tickets are sold at the door on a first-come,
first-served basis. The Brick Theater is located at 575 Metropolitan
Ave. between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg.
For more information, call (718) 907-6189 or visit www.bricktheater.com.
