Justin Tanner (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Rogue Machine Theatre
Through March 1
Justin Tanner has been a formidable presence in Los Angeles Theater for decades. Back in the early ‘90s when he was resident playwright at the Cast Theater, he scripted some raucously entertaining plays like Tent Show, Pot Mom, and Zombie Attack (which ran for ten years at that venue).
With My Son the Playwright, now in its world premiere at Rogue Machine’s intimate Henry Murray Stage, Tanner goes solo and unabashedly personal to explore the fragmented relationship between a father and his playwright son. It is a narrative that combines humor, pain and an open-ended sense of loss and sorrow. The play is structured in two acts: the first explores the attitudes and perceptions of the father, and the second presents the son’s perspective.
The father, Douglas, is a mash of contradictions and lives in a world of regrets, guilt and simmering anger. Early on, Douglas says of his son, in a voice and manner more like a painful admission, “He’s a playwright; not exactly the field a dad wants his son to go into.” Douglas is his son’s business manager, and complains of his son’s irresponsible spending, but he never forcefully addresses it.
Douglas likes his gin, and he drinks plenty of it while he rambles through his monologue. He blames his failures (professional and personal) on others, and refers to his son’s mom as a “succubus.” It’s a disquieting picture of an emotionally unstable, deeply conflicted man (he admits to a sexual attraction for men), who is incapable (or unwilling) to confront himself or connect meaningfully with other people.
In Act II, the scene changes to James’s apartment. Tanner has a different hairstyle and manner, but the same uncorked energy is present in his performance. We meet James, who is half-heartedly anticipating an upcoming meeting with his father — but things can’t get underway until he finds his stash of weed, which he frantically searches for, going so far as to empty the contents of his backpack, splashing them across the stage. James’s in-your-face style and manner serves him well; proudly gay and flamboyant, he riffs about past experiences with multiple partners, and the drugs that are a significant part of his life. In his emotional brokenness and substance abuse, there is a haunting reflection of his father.
Tanner skillfully channels these characters under the direction of Lisa James, but the show is overburdened with unpleasant reminiscences and the airing of grievances. The play would be well-served by more focus on the inner lives of father and son, along with a deeper, more incisive exploration of their relationship and where it fundamentally derailed. Hats off to set and lighting designer Mark Mendelson and prop designer Megan-Trapani Diven.
Rogue Machine (upstairs on the Henry Murray Stage at the Matrix Theatre). 7657 Melrose Ave, Hollywood. Fri. and Mon., 8 pm, Sat.-Sun., 5 pm; thru March 1. https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/
