Danny Bernardo and Jonathan Slavin (Photo by Andrew Ge)
Reviewed by Steven Vargas
The Broadwater Black Box
Through November 15
RECOMMENDED
In 2015, the Supreme Court case Obergfell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The event represented a big win in the ongoing fight for gay liberation. A decade later, the Supreme Court revisited the landmark decision after Kim Davis, a former Kentucky Court clerk, issued a petition to overturn the ruling. On the same day, Broken Token Productions opened its run of playwright Philip Dawkins’s Le Switch at The Broadwater.
Directed by Spenser Davis, the play encapsulates the prevailing debates about marriage within the LGBTQ+ community immediately following the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York. The discussions feel like both a fleeting memory and a re-opened time capsule, warning of what’s to return and turning Dawkins’s text into lightning in a bottle.
Le Switch follows David (Danny Bernardo), an average professor of library sciences who is reeling from a breakup and struggling to find optimism in his romantic life as he prepares for his childhood best friend’s bachelor party in Montreal. Just when he thinks all is lost, he meets Benoit (Jonathan Moreno), an aloof flower shop worker who primarily speaks French. With same-sex marriage newly legalized in the state, David must overcome trauma-driven behavioral patterns and learn to accept the love he yearns for.
David is pretty normal, although he insists otherwise. He convinces himself that being gay makes it difficult for him to be loved by the outside world. When he lets his guard down, his worldview shifts.
Dawkins’ characterization of the supporting characters gives Le Switch a particular flair; it transforms their seemingly senseless remarks and rants into pivotal reflections of David’s story. For example, his best friend Zachary (Brian Kim McCormick) represents the unabashedly queer version of David that he hides. Zachary decided to get married immediately after same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, something David couldn’t fathom. Frank (Jonathan Slavin), David’s roommate and his lifeline when he first came out, represents— along with his late boyfriend Danny — a version of the future he hopes to achieve. And his twin sister, Sarah (Christine Lin), who is just as skeptical of love and marriage as David is, only marries a mutual friend to help him stay in the U.S.. Despite mirroring David’s perspective on romance, she represents what could happen if he leans into the possibilities of uninhibited love.
The play takes place in the round, in a performance space is filled with books, chairs, and plenty of rugs. Davis’s style of direction changes throughout the course of the play. With the introduction of Benoit, he embraces whimsy, scoring Benoit’s entrance with “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber. The lights, designed by Harrison Lee Foster, capture Benoit in a multicolored mirage as he gyrates his hips to the rhythm of the song.
Slavin and McCormick’s performances are especially spectacular. Slavin continuously demands your attention. He has a deep understanding of Frank’s humor and executes his quips with precision — either subtly, by altering the tone of his speech, , or abruptly as in throwing a suitcase against the wall during a moment of calm. He makes smart use of the space as well, being specific about what he envisions in the room to immerse viewers in the world with him. McCormick’s physical comedy is strong. He layers Zachary’s rants with unexpected movements. For example, as he reams David for being late to the bachelor party, he shouts about the importance of his gay celebration, flinging the sparkly pink penises dangling from his headband. Working together, these two performers display incredible control of the text and the humor beneath it.
Le Switch speaks most poignantly to the value of time. Each character seeks to manipulate it, and this is reflected most in David and Benoit’s relationship. Their conversations linger a bit longer than anticipated, and they let that happen because they don’t know when they’ll have that feeling of falling for a stranger again. The play centers around the legalization of same-sex marriage, but Dawkins digs beyond the legalities of a lifelong commitment to share a story about the unspoken intimacy of queer romance.
It’s rare to find someone who gets you on a granular level, who understands the emotional whiplash of yearning for love while the government seeks to limit its bounds. Broken Token Productions successfully encapsulates Dawkins’s musings on marriage with a show that embodies this whiplash, and invites you to push against David’s hesitations amid an ever-changing political landscape outside the theater that could make his concerns all the more urgent.
The Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Mon., 7:30 pm; thru Nov. 15. Runtime: 2 hours and 15 minutes, with a 10-minute intermission. https://www.onstage411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=7439
