Daddy Issues

Reviewed by Iris Mann
Dorie Theatre @ The Complex
Through November 13

This play by writer-director David Goldyn tries hard to be a farce, with mistaken identities and surprising revelations. But it is so full of clichés, exaggerations that come out of nowhere, and unbelievable cardboard caricatures, which don’t emerge from the characters and fail to amuse, that it just doesn’t make it.

The story takes place in 1982 and revolves around David Moscowitz (James Seifert), a gay, budding actor, whose controlling Jewish parents, Marion (Pamela Shaw) and Sid (Jonathan Fishman), despite knowing that he’s gay, want him to find a woman, settle down and give them a grandchild. Pushed to his limit, David decides to tell them that he actually fathered a child ten years ago by a college girlfriend, before he came out as gay. His parents happen to remember the young woman, whom they liked. There is a ten-year-old boy living in the apartment building David inhabits, and he decides to “rent” the youngster. He has to pick someone who’s in on the deception to play the boy’s mother, and it is from that decision that the mistaken identities follow.

Rounding out the characters are David’s female friend who continually mixes up aspects of the ruse, his drag queen buddy (this character wears some fantastic costumes, courtesy of costume designer Josh Nadler and wig designer Kristin Confer), his grandmother, his rented son, and the boy’s real mother.

As director, Goldyn has neglected to explore the characters with his actors, so that the action is played on the surface by the cast and seems arbitrary. In addition, there are no really funny lines, and, because there is hardly any reality onstage, we as audience don’t root for anybody. The one exception to the general criticism is Fishman’s performance. He has an attractive presence, strikes just the right note given the intended style of the piece, and creates a character that is wholly believable. As for the other cast members, I’m going to assume they may well have done better work elsewhere, so it doesn’t serve anything to comment on their individual performances here.

In the promotional material, Goldyn is quoted as explaining that the play was inspired by an incident that actually happened to him. However, as they say, “Truth is no excuse.”

Dorie Theatre@ The Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Fri.- Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 5 pm;  Thurs., Oct. 20, 8 p.m.; daddyissuestheplay.com; Running time: approximately two hours with one intermission.