Timothy Willard, Yulia Belyaeva, Gloria Tsai, Jeff LeBeau and Krit McLean (Photo by Christ Mortenson)
Reviewed by Deborah Klugman
Black Bough Productions at the Skylight Theatre
Through September 21
Achilles in Arcadia takes place in a typically modest (but now shuttered) Chinese-American restaurant. George (Krit McLean), a U.S. veteran in his 20s, has been utilizing the space to rehearse a student film he is planning to make with his best buddy Pat (Timothy Willard), his girlfriend Lilly (Devyn Kohl) and his sister Rose (Yulia Belyaeva).
The rehearsal sets up a creaky time frame for a top-heavy melodrama that plays out among George, his dead mom, his much-despised aunt (Gloria Tsai) and his even more despised, long estranged dad (Jeff LeBeau). Written by Chris Collins and directed by Kiff Scholl, the play’s slew of contrivances and dubious plot points strike one as better suited to a TV series with multiple episodes (and seasons?) than a porous 85-minute play.
The first thing one learns about George is that he has anger management issues, made evident by the way he slams the furniture around as he clears the space and speaks in an irate voice to the other characters present. Ostensibly, he is mad because his sister is late for rehearsal, but it turns out there are other issues on his mind, — chiefly, the recent death of his mother and her assigning the role of executor of her will to his aunt. The direction of events is clearly marked when he pulls out a gun, insisting, to the dismay of his friends, that it is a vital component in the scene (a dream sequence) they are about to enact.
George’s account of his problems with his aunt, in which she appears as an evil manipulator, turn out to be wholly one-sided. When Aunt Amy (who speaks a caricatured pidgin English) appears, it’s to plead with George to raise funds for the plumbing problem in the house he shares with her and her sister. Apparently, things have gotten so bad that sewage is leaking into the house. But George shuns Amy’s pleas (apparently, he’s been too preoccupied with his filmmaking to notice them), especially when she suggests that they locate his Dad, gone AWOL 12 years prior, for financial help with the repairs.
Problems compound, and before play’s end, the story has been stretched to encompass adultery, embezzlement, attempted murder, death-by-cop and arson, side by side with fractious deliberations on equity in real estate and how to solve the family’s financial problems.
Truth, that most treasured component of good drama, is in short supply throughout. As sister Rose, Belyaeva garners most of it, but she’s ultimately defeated by the demands of the narrative that have her character behaving in sulky, unreasonable ways. As Chuck, George’s dad, LeBeau displays the stagecraft of a mature actor but trips on the melodrama. McLean’s George is persuasively angry from the get-go, but without shading or nuance. Other members of the ensemble either spin their own shtick independent of the story, or they leave the impression of appearing in live theater for the first time.
Scenic designer Joyce Hutter successfully depicts the décor of a no-frills Asian eatery with its red paper lanterns and emerald green walls, and its shelves in the back lined with kitchen essentials. Lighting by Matt Richter conveys the dim ambience of a failed enterprise.
Sound designer Gary Buszek intersperses scenes with the fragment of a musical string composition that underscores the play’s uber-heightened drama.
The Skylight Theatre, 1816 ½ N.. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm, dark on Labor Day weekend; thru Sept. 21. http://achillesinarcadia.com Running time: approximately 85 minutes.
