We want to first thank Eddie for sending in this review of "The Christopher Boy's Communion" which took place in Los Angeles at the Odyssey Theatre. This is a review with opinion for those who want to know up front. This production has a incredible line up that goes beyond the star power Clark brings which includes William H. Macy, Rebecca Pidgeon, Fionnula Flanagan, David Paymer and more.
The Christopher Boy’s Communion
My boyfriend and I were trying to figure out what to do for Valentine’s Day. We debated, but the results were inconclusive. After a short debate, I logged on to Facebook and saw that Clark Gregg would be in a new David Mamet play, the debate became molecular in size and I booked the two tickets for the night of love. The night came, and I walked into the Odyssey theater with my boyfriend on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. It was a relatively small theatre compared to other theatres in L.A., so I knew it would be very intimate and excited to be a few feet away from one of my favorite actors of all time.
The play opens with William H. Macy as Hollis, a detective talking with a cop having just come from the funeral of another cop who committed suicide. It leads to the experiences and hardships one must go through in law enforcement, like no longer being able to use a nightstick and gives the audience context of the crime that will be exposed and debated before diving deeper into the story.
Without giving too much away, the hour and half flies by, especially when our favorite guy, Clark Gregg, and the character of his wife, Rebecca Pidgeon, (who also happens to be David Mamet’s wife in real life), enter the scene. It is a great set up for the journey that Rebecca’s character has to take throughout the play regarding themes of crime, death, responsibility, blame, religion and ultimately saving her son at any cost due to a heinous crime he committed. It challenges the character of Rebecca, the mom, as well as the audience on the question of faith and what ends would you go to for your family?
Clark Gregg’s role is that of what I dubbed, the moral compass. He was the voice of reason, righteousness and truth, despite also being the father of their son who committed a horrendous crime in Central Park. It was his performance that I was looking forward to the most, and it was, no doubt, a great complement to Rebecca’s character who was spiraling down a journey of doing absolutely anything, I mean anything, for the sake of her child, despite all the stacking evidence that he is guilty. Clark helped give the audience the morality needed to balance out the tornado that was going through the family and friends involved in the grisly murder that took place.
As someone who isn’t much for plays or musicals (I know, I’m gay and I’m not over the top for them), but enjoys them occasionally, I did find the beginning scene of two cops having a conversation a tad long for my attention span, but that’s me. I was waiting for a scene change or something of the sort, but it did give the audience perspective of the storyline and the morality and decisions that challenge the person closest to the one who committed a crime - the mom.
David Mamet, a famous American playwright, as I was told, has a specific form of language when it comes to his plays. In order to enlighten myself in a world that I know of only through my partner’s explanations, I decided to do some light research. Apparently, “The most recognized element of Mamet's style is his sparse, clipped dialogue. Although reminiscent of such playwrights as Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett, Mamet's dialogue is so unique that it has become known as "Mametspeak". His language is not so much "naturalistic" as it is a poetic impression of streetwise jargon. Other signature elements of Mamet's style include minimalism and a lack of stage directions.”( http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc31.html ). With this new information, I can claim that he truly added his “Mamet-touch” if you will. After reading about David Mamet and watching the play myself, I can state that his intentions for the play came to fruition.
All in all, it was a wonderful play that introduced me to the writing of David Mamet and to finally see Clark Gregg in action on the stage! A nice view into a world where we question the lengths we would go to, for our own children.
After the production, Eddie got to meet Clark Gregg and Clark was kind enough to give Eddie a birthday card. We are so happy for you Eddie, and thank you so much for sharing your incredible experience with us.
The Christopher Boy's Communion is Sold Out, however you can still get on the waiting list for a chance to see this incredible play by calling 310-477-2055 ext 2
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