In "Frappuccino," a new play
by Manos Pantelidis now at the Harry Warren Theatre in Gravesend,
Frank and John are gay lovers and roommates whose relationship
is threatened when John’s mother, Christiana, unexpectedly appears,
suitcases in hand, at their Chelsea apartment.
Christiana, who is not aware that her 35-year-old son is gay,
has decided to leave her cheating husband and settle in with
her son so she may find him a wife.
To complicate the plot, Frank and John, who are having their
apartment redecorated by the French interior decorator Georges
DeKaval, are living in semi-chaos. And before Frank and John
can even begin to figure out what to do about John’s mother,
John’s father, Mark, arrives with his girlfriend, Maria (a young
lady who, it turns out, is not exactly what she seems to be).
As if this weren’t enough, it soon appears that Christiana has
an unusual affection for Jimmy, the cabdriver who brought her
to New York City from Hicksville (and an enterprising young man
who seems to know more than he should). And John and Frank’s
actress friend, Claudia, discovers she has an unexpected attraction
to Maria and fears she may be a lesbian.
In director Tony Marinelli’s program notes he writes that after
proofreading Pantelidis’ first draft, he "did eight thorough
readings – one for each of the eight characters – examining the
scenes that each character was in for believability of language,
character development and continuity as well as relationship
to the development of what I perceived to be the plot.
"Then I met with the playwright and met with the playwright
and met with the playwright," he continues. "Prior
to the first rehearsal, but after five or six weekend breakfast
meetings, the playwright and I had two four-hour sessions at
his apartment where we read out loud the entire text and stopped
mid-sentence if something didn’t sound right Needless to say,
the first version of ’Frappuccino’ was 80-something pages. As
I saw the need to further develop some of the characters, the
play started to get longer, first by lines, then by pages. The
current ’production version’ is now 95 pages."
Phew! Thank God they ran out of time, or we might have had "War
and Peace" onstage.
Without having read the original version, it’s impossible to
say what Marinelli’s contribution was. But having seen the results
of all this cutting, patching, adding and tweaking, one can only
wish the director had let the playwright do the writing and left
himself the job of directing.
"Frappuccino" is, for the most part, well acted by
a cast that deserves better material. Pantelidis has given them
stock characters and Marinelli never lets them go beyond these
limits. Lin Cirelli is the overbearing Greek mother. Ray Wiederhold
is the clueless, cultureless. philandering father. Kris Lundberg
is the ditsy actress.
As for Frank (Jeff Lupinacci) and John (Steven Pelton), it would
have been nice if the playwright and director had avoided some
of the hackneyed gay stereotypes that have already been parodied
in Jonathan Tolins’ recently closed off-Broadway show "The
Last Sunday in June" – the gay man as a victim of his own
promiscuous desires, obsessed with home decor and fearful of
coming out of the closet (sometimes literally).
In fact, interior designer DeKaval (James Martinelli), who supplies
the comic relief and the cutting remarks, is the only character
with an interesting history and a clearly defined life that has
nothing to do with the gay couple. But Martinelli – who doesn’t
miss a swish – would have been a lot funnier if we could have
taken him more seriously.
"Frappuccino" has an involved plot worthy of a Shakespearean
comedy. But while the Bard is sometimes confusing, Pantelidis
and Martinelli often seem merely confused. With all their hard
work, why have they left so many loose ends, so many characters
dangling in dramatic Never Never Land, and an ending so unbelievable
it calls for not only a suspension of disbelief but suspended
animation.
Still there are moments when "Frappuccino" does work
– mostly thanks to the hard work of the actors, who quite obviously
have the right instincts for their parts and manage to be funny
through the sheer energy of their antic performances. This is
fortunate for the audience but an unfair burden for the performers.
Another highlight of the production is the excellent costuming
by Natalie Garfinkle, who has a nice sense of the ironic and
a gift for the unexpected. Bravo!
If "Frappuccino" is not a "don’t miss" play,
neither is it one to avoid. But whoever does give it a try should
make sure to give the actors a hearty round of applause. They
deserve it.
The Ryan Repertory Theater’s production
of "Frappuccino" plays through Oct. 18, Wednesdays
through Saturdays at 8 pm with Saturday matinees at 5 pm. No
evening performance on Oct. 18. Tickets are $15 on Wednesdays,
$18 on Thursdays, $22 on Fridays and Saturdays at 5 pm, and $25
on Saturdays at 8 pm. Discounts for students and seniors. The
Harry Warren Theatre is located at 2445 Bath Ave. at Bay 38th
Street in Gravesend. For reservations, call (718) 996-4800 or
e-mail ryanrep@juno.com.
