Indy Theatre Habit

What is it about reunions?  They stir things up in unpredictable ways.

Last Thursday night I drove to the Phoenix Theatre in downtown Indianapolis to see the opening night of the Midwest premiere of “The Most Damaging Wound.” It was written by Blair Singer and directed by Bryan Fonseca.  It stars six of my favorite professional actors – Shane Chuvalis, Scot Greenwell, Doug Johnson, Ricardo Melendez, Bill Simmons, and Karen Irwin – all of whom have worked together in Indy-area shows before.

I was, therefore, prepared to swoon at their reunion on stage, no matter what the play was about.

And I did swoon quite a bit – all six of the actors were even more talented and more attractive than I had remembered – but the show itself made me feel more pensive than lustful.  It is a funny, even ribald, piece, and in spite of all the curse words and fecal references, it is actually quite a comfy, hopeful piece.  But it also offers a lot to think about in terms of male friendships in particular and adult friendships in general.  It resonated with me on many levels and made me think more deeply about my own adult friendships over the years.

The five guys in “The Most Damaging Wound” all met and became close in college.  Now, several years later, one of them, earnest Kenny (Shane Chuvalas), has persuaded the others to get together at paradoxically vivacious-yet-shy Gordon’s (Ricardo Melendez’) restaurant-in-progress for a male bonding ritual to release their immature pasts so that they can become truly men.  Kenny read about the ritual in a book by a leader of the so-called Men’s Movement.  The idea is to burn a box of mementos from their college years so that the embarrassing parts of their shared histories are cleared away and only their friendships remain.

As Kenny explains to slick lobbyist Alan (Bill Simmons), men need intimate, non-sexual friendships with other men.  Kenny quotes the second chapter of Robert Bly’s Men’s Movement classic, Iron John: “Having no soul union with other men is the most damaging wound” that our messed-up society has inflicted.

The other men are not at all sure about the ritual – or Robert Bly for that matter – but most of them are up for a guys’ only night of drinking games.  The most reluctant participant, quiet Bo (Scot Greenwell), no longer drinks, but he has a ritual step of his own to take with the rowdy Dickie (Doug Johnson), so he shows up, too.

But are their friendships still intact?  The men have all changed quite a bit over the years: gotten married, had children, advanced in their careers (or not), and so on. 

And were they ever truly friends to begin with?  Each of the men engages with these questions in his own way. 

Meanwhile, unexpectedly into their gathering comes Christine (Karen Irwin), who is Alan’s…friend from work.  She is the archetypal Perfect Woman: physically gorgeous and sexual, eternally loving and patient, superhumanly wise and intuitive.  Plus she can sing and drink with the best of them while still remaining a lady, and she knows when to leave.  In other words, she is the perfect mix of Mother, Lover, and Goddess.

“Oh, please,” I thought, rolling my eyes even as I wanted her to be my friend, too.

I found it fascinating – and ironic – that the playwright knew he needed to have the archetypal Feminine embodied by an actual woman in a group of non-archetypal (i.e. – completely human and therefore complex and endearingly imperfect) men reluctantly exploring their masculinity.

I also found fascinating the numerous ways in which the play explores the theme of avoidance.  Several of the men use the presence of a “hot chick” to avoid addressing their own issues with each other.  Almost everyone in the group uses alcohol to avoid admitting their true feelings to themselves or talking to each other or taking responsibility for what they say.  These are just two of many examples.

But who am I to judge? Even though I am female, each of the male characters was a mirror for me at one point or another in the show.  One character reminded me that I don’t know of a good way to end platonic relationships with either men or women that have become toxic, so I cut them off cold turkey, which hurts and mystifies the other person and leaves me feeling safer but guilty.  (Mind you, the character in the play doesn’t know how to say, “This friendship isn’t working for me,” either, but at least he is able to apologize for not knowing how to say it, and without getting embroiled in the toxic relationship all over again.)  Another character made me realize that I, too, have unconsciously tried to idolize certain people instead of being a friend to them.

And although I rarely drink alcohol any more, all of the characters reminded me that I still have plenty of other methods for avoiding intimacy.

However, I love that mostly – for me, anyway – the play is about exploring the many ways there are to let go of patterns and relationships that are no longer useful, while keeping, deepening, and appreciating what is valuable.

And four days later I’m still laughing out loud over certain lines in the play. 

Ultimately, this is “just” a really fun night out with the guys…at the theatre.  If you liked the movie “Diner,” I bet you would like this play, too, because even though “Wound” is set in the present rather than the past, and even though the men in “Wound” are at a different stage in their lives from the young men in “Diner,” both stories are funny and both are about men figuring out important things through their friendships. 

Also…I ended up going to this show by myself, but when I talked to a friend about it later, he said it sounded like something that people who liked the insights in the book Self-Made Man: One Woman’s Year Disguised as a Man, by Norah Vincent, would probably like, too.   There is no cross-dressing in “Wound,” but it is about how being a man is not always the privilege that some women think it is.

And finally…I haven’t talked to my friend, Glenn, for oh, at least five years but he was the one who introduced me to Robert Bly years ago.   I have no idea whether or not Glenn is still a fan of the Men’s Movement, but in any case, I bet he would enjoy this show, too.

By the way, in case I have given you the wrong idea with my self-help musings above, you don’t have to talk or even think deeply about this show at all if you don’t want to. It’s perfectly okay to just sit back and laugh, and then chuckle some more on the ride home.

Hmm.  But I may need to see it again.

A Few Words about the Lovely Design Elements

I loved the set!  James Gross designed a building that is in the process of being renovated into a restaurant.  The men sit on over-turned plastic paint buckets and the walls are covered in paint samples, but you can see that the restaurant has promise, just like the men do.  Just like we all do.

Lindsey Lyddan used a deft and subtle hand for the lighting design.  I especially enjoyed the flickering fire light.

Christopher Hansen was the technical director and in charge of props, which include a gazillion bottles of alcohol.  There is no one listed as sound designer in my program, but Tim “Sound Guru” Brickley is listed under Special Thanks, so maybe he is responsible for the excellent and hilarious flushing sounds and the great music choices between scenes.  Donna Jones is the stage manager.  Dani Norberg is the light & sound operator.

Lori Raffel designed the costumes, including winter coats to perfectly match each character’s personality.  I wonder if she is also responsible for the various wounds and bandages.  In any case, they are completely believable and wince-worthy.  Richard S. Rand choreographed the inevitable fighting.

Julie Curry took the photos for the show, including the one at the top of this post.

Box Office

“The Most Damaging Wound” continues at the Phoenix Theatre through Saturday, September 26, 2009.  This season, the Phoenix is going back to having Sunday afternoon performances most weekends AND all of the seats for any performance will be more affordable.  Here is a paragraph from the press release for this show:

Ticket Prices

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre