Jon Sprik, Josee Guardine and John Idakitis (Photo by Tim Sullens)
Reviewed by Terry Morgan
The Victory Theatre
Through April 14
RECOMMENDED
Religious belief has been fruitfully investigated in theater before, including in such plays as A Man for All Seasons and Doubt. It’s an inherently dramatic subject, whose areas of controversy range from discussions of morality to the question of why we’re here in the first place. But whereas Seasons is concerned with moral conscience and Doubt details human moral failings, Jon Klein’s new play Faithless is about religion itself and why people need or don’t. The world premiere production at the Victory Theatre is uncommonly thoughtful and humorous and features a terrific quartet of actors.
Presbyterian minister Calvin (Jon Sprik) and high school teacher Claire (Melissa Ortiz) are confused as to why they’ve been summoned to their stepfather Gus’s (John Idakitis) home. He tells them that it’s something to do with a decision from his adopted teenage daughter, Rosie (Joseé Guardine), but that he’s promised not to reveal what it is. When Rosie arrives and her secret is revealed, everyone has an opinion, and the debate begins. The subject is religious in nature, which pits minister Calvin versus atheist Gus, with secular Claire in the middle. Rosie is no pushover, however, and the conversation is very lively until things occur that puts their beliefs to the test.
Ortiz is acerbic and funny as Claire, whereas Sprik’s skilled portrayal of Calvin is mostly more amiable, and the two of them convincingly seem like siblings, sparring constantly without necessarily taking offense at each other’s jabs. Idakitis brings irascible energy to his performance as Gus and is especially good in a speech in which his character explains the roots of his atheism. Guardine plays Rose with an earnest seriousness that effectively makes the religious conversation a real debate, which gives the show real emotional stakes.
Director Maria Gobetti gets strong, detailed work from her cast, and her surehanded pacing turns what in lesser hands could have been a talky exploration of theology into a compelling drama. Playwright Klein smartly balances out weighty discussions (e.g. the patriarchal structure of the Catholic Church and faith versus disbelief) with an abundance of humor — describing religion, for example, as “death insurance” and referring to nuns as “It’s not all singing and escaping Nazis.” Some of his dialogue feels a bit too on the nose, and a mid-play character change which has Calvin suddenly become combative isn’t completely successful. However, overall Faithless is a smart and entertaining play about a subject that isn’t often discussed this openly.
The Victory Theatre, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru April 14. https://victorytheatrecenter.org. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission. https://thevictorytheatrecenter.org
