My overall impression
THE STRUGGLE OF GOOD VERSUS EVIL – 100 SAINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW AT ELEPHANT THEATRE COMPANY
Review by Tracy Lynn Schafer
This review first appeared on www.ArtsBeatLA.com
The presence and truth of God is often cold hard fact for the devout. For those less convinced, there could exist a struggle… Elephant Theatre Company has given life to this struggle with 100 Saints You Should Know.
Wrestling with his faith and his place in the Church, Father Matthew (Brendan Farrell) is asked to take a leave of absence, after a number of risqué photos are found hidden in his living quarters. With nowhere else to turn, Father Matthew returns to his childhood home, where his mother (Pamela Roylance) proves to be no help in his resolution. While Father Matthew cannot seem to answer any questions he himself may have about God, others still flock to his cloth in hope of guidance. Included in this motley crew is a young man, Garrett (Marco Naggar), struggling with his sexual identity, Theresa (Cheryl Huggins) who battles with her own lack of faith, and Abby (Kate Huffman) Theresa’s daughter, who is nothing short of a troubled youth. All these ticking time bombs share the stage, guiding one another and the audience through one fateful – and faithless – night.
The cast of 100 Saints You Should Know were guided by the lovely direction of Lindsay Allbaugh. With the combination of said direction and playwright Kate Fodor’s clever dialogue, the actors had no difficulty bringing the complex relationships to the stage. So many words come to mind to describe how this play landed on me. It was heartbreaking and honest. Dealing with a multitude of themes from religion and God, to love, intimacy and sex, longing and communication – this play tackles it all.
While each player brought to the stage a fine performance, two actors were exceptionally stellar. Kate Huffman who plays Abby, portrayed a modern day teenager so colorfully, at times I wanted to shake her out of her own attitude riddled reality. She reminds the audience just how bewildering the world can be when you are coming of age. Marco Naggar, who plays another troubled youth named Garrett, completely stole the show for me in a curious, naïve, innocent sort of way. Naggar offers up a tragic comedic presence in one beat and then morose drama in the next. He was captivating and sad. This was the loss of youth unfolding before our very eyes.
