In Act I, when Avery arrives late for work at a run-down movie theater known as The Flick, he can’t stop apologizing. Later, in Act II of Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “The Flick,” you learn why.
In this finely written, carefully observed drama about ordinary people, you may well witness the mystery of human connection.
Thanks to Director Theresa Carson and Drama Department Chairman Dennis Elkins, Fort Lewis College got the rights to perform “The Flick” as its season opener. The play won the Pulitzer for drama only last year. It recently closed a long run on Broadway and is now being staged all around Europe. We’re lucky to have a production here in Durango. As directed by Carson and performed by FLC students with guest New York actor Sharod Choyce as Avery, the college performance holds its own.
Baker’s low-key drama unspools quietly. Sam, 35 (played convincingly by Joshua Canada), initiates Avery, 20 (the extremely subtle and nuanced Choyce) in basic janitorial procedures – sweeping, mopping, general cleaning. Avery is a quick study, and the two young men soon find a common interest in the movies that have shaped their lives. A tantalizing, six-degrees-of-separation game spontaneously erupts, giving them a platform for a possible friendship. Into this tentative mix steps Rose (a cool, slightly world-weary Alicia Aron). She’s the projectionist in this out-of-date 35mm movie house that may or may not succumb to a digital transformation. A world swept forward by accelerating technology runs as a subtext.
With Rose’s appearance, workplace hierarchies, not to mention sexual tension, also come into play. And there’s a tantalizing fourth actor (Izaäk Vanderburg) who plays two different characters, one a mystery and the other frames the play with a familiar routine.
Baker’s two-act drama is a bit longer than most contemporary plays, but be patient. Everything that’s naturally introduced in Act I has a payoff in Act II. You learn a lot about each character, their aspirations and their hit-and-miss efforts to connect in an uncertain world.
Among Carson’s many smart choices, she has opted to put the audience on stage and have the action take place in the audience part of the FLC theater. When you enter the Theatre Building, it’s as if you’re coming in the back door. Mops and cleaning equipment are visible, and you’ll be led to a side stage entrance. Sixty seats have been set on platforms, so seating is limited but viewing is good. The audience is, in effect, the movie screen, and when the play begins, the projector light and sound wrap up an evening. Soon, Sam and his new helper enter and begin the laborious process of cleaning up. It is another miracle of the writing, that subsequent evenings uncover not only new debris but new insights.
The New York Times categorized Baker’s writing style as micro-naturalism. My favorite explanation separating realism from naturalism is that in the latter, garbage cans on stage contain real garbage.
“The Flick” is probably the finest contemporary exercise in naturalism that I’ve seen in a long time. It may well stay with you and prompt a review of your own work and friendship history. Seating is extremely limited, so if you love plays, make an effort to see the opening production of the FLC drama season. It looks like a winning year with Shakespeare’s “Tempest” next and a Gilbert and Sullivan extravaganza later.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theater Critics Association.
If you go
What:
“The Flick,” a play by Annie Baker, Fort Lewis College Department of Theatre, directed by Theresa A. Carson.
When:
7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, and 2 p.m. matinee Sunday.
Where:
MainStage Theatre, Fort Lewis College.
How much:
Adults $15, seniors $10, FLC faculty and staff $10, children $5, FLC students free.
For more information:
www.durangoconcerts.com, 247-7657.
