The Common Pursuit: Intelligent and Erudite

There is a certain set of expectations that occur when a play opens in a Cambridge or Oxford students’ quarters.  We know that we are in for an erudite evening of quick wit and repressed feelings.  The Roundabout Theater’s The Common Pursuit, now at the Laurie Pels Theater, delivers this evening pleasantly, building to a nice climax which is not too overwrought.

Jacob Fishel, Tim McGeever, Josh Cooke and Lucas Near-Verbrugghe in The Common Pursuit

The Common Pursuit primarily follows five friends from University for 20 years.  Stuart Thorne, the natural leader of this group, starts a literary digest at Cambridge, bringing a group of friends with him.  He gathers a mixed group of friends; the lady-killer, the repressed homosexual, the quiet guy and the effervescent fop who tries too hard to impress.

Cut to nine years later as Stuart and the quiet guy, Martin, are struggling to put out The Common Pursuit – the digest, on a regular basis.  This is clearly Stuart’s passion, and Martin is a dedicated friend and supporter.  Martin is played by Jacob Fishel, with an exactness that is endearing and perfect for the character.  Mr. Fishel brings a real humanity to the role which provides the audience and entre to this group of friends. The character of Martin is supportive without being creepy – a true friend to Stuart.  Stuart is preoccupied with the magazine, so both his girlfriend and friends have to take a backseat.  Josh Cooke plays this facet of Stuart’s personality extremely well.  Mr. Cook’s Stuart is self-involved in a cocoon of worry about living up to his own exacting standards.

The Cambridge gang drops by at odd intervals, and we see how they have or haven’t grown emotionally.  Humphry, Tim McGeever, is settling into the lonely scholar routine back at Cambridge.  Peter, Kieran Campion, hasn’t outgrown his womanizing past and is now cheating on his wife (the “Ghastly Emily” referred to, but unseen).  And fop Nick, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe in an unfortunate role, is on the edge of success in various entertainment venues.

Misters McGeever and Campion have settled into their roles, albeit roles that are a little stereotypical.  Mr. Near-Verbrugghe, excellent in both Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Assistance, has yet to find his footing in this role.  Mr. Near-Verbrugghe has been given an unfortunate cough that seems over written and unconvincing.   If he coughed as often as the play seemed to call for, he would be hoarse in two nights; and the fake coughs are distracting.  The cough should be hinted at more, and heard less.

We revisit this group of characters twice more over the course of 20 years to see how they have or have not stayed true to their scholarly passions.  Their ultimate professional success is inversely proportional to their passion for their chosen fields, which should be ironic, but feels a little obvious.

Jacob Fishel & Josh Cooke

The biggest problem with the piece could be resolved with a simple change to the program.  The program states the play is set “20 years ago”, which was true in 1984 – when the play was written.  But now, almost 30 years later, the period is much more than 20 years in the past.  Neither the music nor the costumes give much of a clue of the time frame (Bach and Vivaldi on a college student’s record player doesn’t scream 1960s).  Had the program said “mid-sixties”, expectations would have been set correctly.  The problems and emotions are much “of a moment”, a more repressed and less wired era.

Director Moises Kaufman does a good job of staging and moving this work along, particularly in the second half, when the story seems to really settle in and grab the audience.  Playwright Simon Gray’s  story, though dated, is still both moving and very funny.  The Common Pursuit is a good show, with a very good show just under the surface.  I think it will only get better over the next few weeks.

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The Common Pursuit @ The Laurie Pels Theater, Roundabout Theater Group

Playwright: Simon Gray

Director: Moises Kaufman

Cast: Kristen Bush, Kieran Campion, Josh Cooke, Jacob Fishel, Tim McGeever, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe

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Assistance @ Playwrights Horizons (thru March 11)

Assistance @ Playwrights Horizons

Assistance, now on stage at Playwrights Horizons, opens frenetically with two men sparring at/to each other in a shared language of puns, jokes, expletives, and verbal shorthand.  It races with such a rapid fire pace that the audience is left wondering if they will ever catch up.  Your ear has to attune to the cadence, in much the same way it takes a few minutes of Shakespeare before the viewer settles into it.

Those audience members that do fall into the rhythm and mindset of these men, they are rewarded with play that engenders a sense of camaraderie and fun set in the cut-throat world of entertainment personal assistants. Those audience members that are easily offended, too empathetic or don’t catch on quickly to the slang and speed of the delivery tend to drop out of the proceedings, which is too bad.  Because Assistants is about more than just crazed office workers, it is about the lengths we go to reach our dreams. And how we cling to those dreams, even after they fall short of our expectations.

The boss, a sadistic self-important and border-line psychopath, but powerful entertainment executive, is never seen.  It is his whims, frustrations and rules which drive the people on stage into fits to meet his requirements.  Michael Esper and Virginia Kull bring life to Nick and Nora, the central pair of executive assistants.  These two give voice and reason as to why someone would choose this job.  Nick guides Nora through the Byzantine rule set to please, or at least not anger, the un-seen Mr. Weinberger.

Virginia Kull & Michael Esper as assistants in Assistance

The rest of the cast, including Bobby Steggart and Lucas Near-Vergrugghe, are excellent – they show up for some magical moments, in roles as the assistant de jour.  Amy Rosoff and Sue Jean Kim play female assistants very well, although they are given pretty one dimensional roles to fulfill.

The sets (David Korins) are great, and provide an appropriate claustrophobic environment; big enough to lose something important, but not big enough to provide relief.  And Director Trip Cullman moves the cast very well inside of this new play by Leslye Headland.

But as good as the cast is, the point of the entire show hangs just out reach.  Is this elaborate game an appropriate, or useful, try out for the next job?  Is it a story of power gone mad, and the lengths people will do to achieve it?  Is it a morality tale; be careful what you wish for?  Or it is it the tale of the lifecycle of a relationship, albeit not a romantic one?  The ambiguity of the point can be fascinating, and it was in Assistance.  But an audience member looking for a more black and white experience could find Assistance frustrating.

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Assistance at PlayWrights Horizons

Playwright: Leslye Headland

Director: Trip Cullman

Cast: Michael Esper, Sue Jean Kim, Virginia Kull, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Amy Rosoff, Bobby Stegger

Runs Through: March 11th

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