Director James Hooks will stage his adaptation
of the Keanu Reeves-Patrick Swayze extreme-sports blockbuster
"Point Break" at Williamsburg’s Galapagos Art Space,
beginning Feb. 10.
But he can’t do it without you.
More accurately, he can’t do it without a volunteer from the
audience, who will read the lines of Johnny Utah from cue cards
– to help the recruit truly embody Reeves’s performance in the
movie.
"It’s the most wildly appreciated work, of all the things
I’ve done," Hooks, 35, told GO Brooklyn. "It’s also
the least ambitious, cheapest and stupidest."
"Point Break" tells the story of undercover FBI agent
Utah, who attempts to infiltrate a gang of bank-robbing surfers
led by Bodhi (Swayze).
According to Hooks, no effort has been spared to recreate the
film’s final monsoon scene, and he’ll bring on the "indoor
rain and wind" to help the audience suspend its disbelief.
"You come to grips with the intensity of the [film’s] action
in the theater," said Hooks. "You really think you’re
in the sky falling towards the earth, and you feel like you’re
in the ocean. We have survival kits to help [the audience] live
the ride a little better – enhancements."
Another – possibly nauseating – innovation in Hooks’s version
of "Point Break," is casting the role of Keanu’s girlfriend,
Tyler, as a 10-year-old girl (played by Greenpoint resident Izzy
Abeyta).
Hooks said he adapted the film for the stage with the help of
Jamie Keeling, who deserves the credit for the "you are
Keanu" angle. Perhaps it isn’t so hard to believe that Hooks,
also of Greenpoint, and Keeling "hatched the idea one drunken
evening over karaoke." But they did, and now Brooklyn can
also enjoy a show that has been so warmly received in Seattle,
Minneapolis and Olympia, Washington, where, according to Hooks,
"the town mandated" the Reeves role be played by "an
overweight lesbian.
"She did a great job."
He said that even a man who "barely spoke English"
gave a "fantastic performance" as Reeves.
"It took a long time, because he had trouble reading the
English, but he had the audience eating out of his hand."
The volunteer who plays Agent Utah does not have to go it alone,
however. Another character, called Production Assistant, helps
the novice with his blocking and holds the all-important cue
cards.
Hooks says that the audience doesn’t appear to shy away from
the limelight, so he doesn’t have a problem getting a volunteer.
He attributes the show’s universal appeal to "everyone wants
to be an action-movie star. Even Tony Kushner [the ’Angels in
America’ playwright] secretly wants to be in an ass-kicking Hollywood
film.
"I’m wallowing in the muck of populist theater with this
one," Hooks continued. "And I hope it doesn’t stain
my clothing. Really, one thing Seattle could teach New York is
that people there – from the drunk at the bar to the mayor –
don’t take themselves so godforsakenly serious all the time.
Certainly, New York theater is guilty of that."
Although cue cards are available for the volunteer, Hooks says
the Johnny Utah role does entail being on the receiving end of
a lot of abuse.
"People are yelling at him and abusing him and forcing him
to commit armed robbery throughout the entire film. [’Point Break
Live!’] realistically reproduces this aspect of this movieHe’s
spat on, teased, and forced to chase people around. Yet people
were absolutely gung ho to play this role."
In real life, Hooks is a bit of a daredevil himself, taking his
theatrical adaptation of "Point Break" on the road
without permission from the filmmakers. But he’s rather pragmatic
about the danger.
"If they sued me, they’d find some walnuts, seaweed and
an empty bottle of orange juice in the fridge," he said,
with just a touch of defiance.
"And the truth is, this is not mocking Keanu," said
Hooks. "It’s a really respectful take. I believe that 90
percent of why people don’t achieve their dreams is self-inflicted:
’I couldn’t be an action-picture star, because I don’t look good
enough, or I don’t have the acting chops.’ But everyone can act
like Keanu. He’s shown us that if you believe you can do it,
talent is secondary to drive and ambition. Everybody can be Keanu."
"Point Break Live!" will be
performed at Galapagos Art Space (70 N. Sixth St. between Kent
and Wythe avenues in Williamsburg) on Friday and Saturday nights
at 8:30 pm, from Feb. 10-25. Tickets are $12, $10 in advance.
For tickets, visit the Web site www.smarttix.com and for more
information, visit www.galapagosartspace.com.
