My overall impression
This is one of the plays that I missed during the regular run of the Fringe, and was so happy that it was selected for the Best of Fringe so that I would have another opportunity to catch it. I had heard so many good things about the show, and it more than lived up to the hype.
Featuring former SAG President Alan Rosenberg and dynamic newcomer Dominic Rains, the play was a voyage in human interaction and emotion.
From the opening scene where Rosenberg enters the small Boston gym, and then changes his sit-up count as the buffed-out Rains enters, the on-stage chemistry starts and builds up to the inevitable explosive conclusion.
The writing of Robert Litz was top shelf. The cast rode the well-crafted script like a champion surfer riding the waves.
I had always enjoyed the acting of Rosenberg on one of my favorite shows, L.A. Law, but seeing him on stage exceeded even that. He is genuine and his performance was exceptional.
Rains’ performance was just as impressive, as the young man harboring a lifetime of hate for his old landlord.
By the end of the play, I had felt a myriad of emotions – hatred for the pompous youth, followed by sympathy for his pain, culminating in the shared sorrow that the plan had not gone as he planned.
Likewise, Rosenberg made us snicker with understanding at the old man trying to impress and compete with the obviously much better young man, feel proud of his accomplishments, and then marvel at the way he dealt with the revengeful plans.
This is a must see play – kudos to the wonderful script of Litz, the directing, staging and lights of Stefan Lysenko, and the stirring performances of Rains and Rosenberg.
