Show Me A Hero
Reviewed by Nikki Munoz
Write Act Repertory Company
Through March 29 [NOTE: Remaining performances postponed due to COVID-19]
Based on the relationship between Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci and the Greek freedom-fighter Alexander Panagoulis, Show Me A Hero presents a love story set in 1974 Greece in the midst of turmoil and political upheaval.
The characters, Luisa (Lisa Robins) and Petros (Ilia Volok), meet when Luisa interviews Petros for a feature, and the two quickly fall in love. Petros is also working with a third character, Dimitry (Rico Simonini), gathering evidence against the corrupt Greek government. Given the political stakes on the one hand and the fact-based romance on the other, Show Me A Hero boasts a story that brims with possibility. But the BrickHouse Theatre production falls short on all fronts, including a weak script and technical problems.
Playwright Willard Manus has drafted one-dimensional versions of these characters: Luisa’s persona doesn’t extend much beyond her career, while Petros is nothing more than a blueprint for a proud, super-macho former war hero. Their love story is hard to invest in: Whereas Petros is aggressively possessive, Luisa’s passivity runs counter to the one attribute that marks her as special — her strong mind. Robins and Volok, meanwhile, are unable to transcend their poorly written characters and exude little chemistry, so their declarations of love are unconvincing.
Their accents are also a problem. Of the three characters, two are Greek and one is Italian. As Panagoulis, Volok speaks with his native Russian inflection. The other two cast members sound blatantly American — a major distraction from the story’s setting and context.
Daniel E. Keough’s direction is, for the most part, messy and convoluted. Many of the characters’ movements are too broad and melodramatic in a way that doesn’t correspond to the tone of the dialogue. Moreover, whenever Luisa and Petros show affection, whether embracing or holding hands while sitting next to each other, it comes across as awkward. There is a strained quality to their physical interactions not in keeping with those of a couple meant to be hopelessly in love.
The disorder on stage is only heightened by poor lighting (design by Mark Baker) which is frequently out of sync, sometimes taking too long to follow a character across the stage. At one moment at the performance I attended, Robins, delivering a monologue, was not even fully lit by the spotlight; whether she was out of place or the lighting was off (or a combination), the end result diverted attention away from what she was saying.
A love story based on real people has the potential to compel an audience’s attention. Unfortunately, Show Me A Hero is attention-getting for all of the wrong reasons — its many missteps.
BrickHouse Theatre, 10950 Peach Grove St., North Hollywood; Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through Mar. 29 [NOTE: Remaining performances postponed due to COVID-19]. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4510530. Running time: approximately one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission.
