The Sexual Lives of Savages – July, 2014
You’ve probably driven by the The Beverly Hills Playhouse dozens of times and missed this tiny gem of a space and the talented productions that have been on its stage since 1978. From the street you really see only an entry way, that leads back down an open corridor, a tree-canopy overhead, into the theatre on one side. The Sexual Life of Savages, Ian MacAllister-McDonald’s new play, presented by Skylight Theatre Company currently on stage is a fine example of one of the plays they have developed.
The intimate space becomes a very personal matter between actors and audience, and the five performing here did not disappoint. The tone is urban and concerned, never graphic. And the actors are all excellent. And all of them are as in model shape, and Victoria Secret catalog attractive. Make that a video because graceful, fluid Melissa Paladino and Burt Grinstead also move like dancers. McDonald, director Elina de Santos, did an equally remarkable job so that the characters sprang
The Sexual Life of Savages cast includes Luke Cook (as Hal), Burt Grinstead (as Clark), Melanie Lyons (as Alice), T. Lynn Mikeska, and Melissa Paladino. The production team: Hazel Kuang (Set) , Jeff McLaughlin (Lighting), Chris Moscatiello (Sound), and Kelly Bailey (Costumes). Ed Krieger was the production photographer.
However, the play still feels to be a work-in-progress. There is little sex, less love and no fun in the lives of the five characters struggling to find happiness in their small town lives, though all are attractive professionals and gainfully employed. Based on novels and plays that depict the petty attitudes in such settings, it should come as no surprise that the “savages” in captivity here are relegated to lives of mundane jealousies and more than that, restlessness and boredom.
For example, there is no emotional basis for the characters to draw the audience in, or to allow the audience to pull for any one character. The spunky, practical character of Jean, a hospital professional, comes closest and at the end it is her character and her inadvertent or unconscious decisions that offer the most hope. She is also the only character to change noticeably during the play.
The dialogue and the performances are so immediate and authentic, in particular when the characters speak directly to the audience as a part of a chorus. Yet the moral issues ring hollow and are preachy and somewhat dated at time, including the questions of a past sexual history past, a three-some, adultery, virginity, individual privacy rights in American culture, on-line ads for sexual fantasies – and maybe the latest mode to explore.
The Sexual Life of Savages runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm through August 16th. 2014 at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, 254 South Robertson Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA. Tickets are ($30 – $34, Seniors (60+) pay $15 on Sundays, ID at door, no fees). Reservations: 213-761-7061 or online at http://skylighttix.com. Video link: http://bit.ly/VideoSavages
SKYLIGHT THEATRE COMPANY is about discovering, developing and producing new, impassioned theater while nurturing and educating the artists that create it. It is their mission to offer writers a home to test and refine their work through our programs, and before a live audience, giving voice to new perspectives of American life. Their policy: “We are a vibrant and expanding family of artists, Our goal is to help establish Los Angeles as a center of innovation in the American Theatre. “
The Sexual Life of Savages was “Developed through our INKubator program, We’re lucky to have found this talented young playwright, whose fresh voice about relationships will undoubtedly find audiences nationwide” says Gary Grossman; Producing Artistic Director