I have been a fan of Culture Clash since I first encountered them at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in their production of The Mission some time in the eighties. I have admired every show of theirs that I’ve seen since. It was, then, in great anticipation when I saw on a poster for Heavy like the Weight of a Flame that the solo performer in it had worked with Culture Clash. I was, then, a bit disappointed by the production. R. Ernie Silva does not have the stage presence of any of the Culture Clash fellows (Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas & Herbert Siguenza) nor does this production have anywhere near the sophistication of any of their shows in writing, staging or emotional impact.
Mr. Silva is best when he is being slyly funny and connects directly to the audience. There is an effortless charm in those moments that is quite compelling. His years of doing stand-up comedy may contribute to this ease. His retelling of the moment when his tough friend timidly asks his mother if he can go to a breakdancing audition was hysterical. During the rest of the performance, however, I felt slightly that I was being acted at, that the performance was too conscious, too deliberate. Even in the moments of anger, which, given his life, his story, I would think he would have a more organic rather than presentationl connection to. The scene where he dreams he is accidentally stuck by a needle is, however, heart breaking, funny, though provoking and true-to-life, all because of his performance of it.
Mr. Silva does have a very compelling story to tell. As a young man living in the projects he is berated by his brother for reading things like Shakespeare and Kerouac, watching Masterpiece Theatre and attempting any sort of music, as that was his older brother’s bailiwick, his older brother who died of complications from drug abuse. He narrowly escapes his home and his mother, who fears his passion (“That flame in you burns you up.”) He heads out on the road by jumping a box car, constantly in fear of succumbing to the drug abuse that destroyed his brother. Along the way, he is exhilarated, beaten down, incarcerated and has a spiritual awakening.
He is accompanied on his journey by his constant companion, Savannah, his beloved guitar. The first few sounds plucked from Savannah, accompanied by the sound of an eagle’s call, were jarring and I wondered what was in store for us. The next few times he takes her out of her case, he almost absentmindedly plucks at her strings, then puts her back. Finally, he actually plays, and what he plays is surprisingly wonderful music in the classical style. The piece is too short and, in my opinion, there is too little of it in the entire production.
The staging, by Mary Joan Negro, is competent, but often a little clumsy. The stage is black with black wooden boxes used as props and set pieces and Mr. Silva often expresses his anger and outrage by either kicking one of the blocks across the stage or violently storming out of the theatre through the same door the audience entered from. Both of these devices were jarring, not in a dramatic way, but because my focus in those moments became a fear for the health of audience members sitting close by or returning from the rest rooms. He also throws Savannah around and at one point I worried that the next time he took her out of her case, she’d be kindling. She wasn’t, and he played another too-short piece of beautiful music to compensate for the abuse.
The script, by novelist James Garbriel and Mr. Silva, is rambling in homage to Kerouac, and compelling. The lighting by Bosco Flanagan effectively moved Mr. Silva from place to place as he traveled his American walk-about. The costume, tattered pants and a “wife-beater,” was designed by Alexis de Forest and music was by Patrick Kirst.
Heavy like the Weight of a Flame is performed Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. through August 8, 2009
The Odyssey Theater is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda, Los Angeles, 90025, one block north of Olympic Blvd.
Ticket prices: $15.00
Reservations online at www.OdysseyTheatre.com or by phone at (310) 477-2055.
