by Tony Bartolone~

Louie is a writer down on his luck (as most writers are) and desperate to launch his next project. A cast of characters including his housekeeper, Ana, his young, attractive housemate, Scott and his agent, Ross, encourage and distract him from re-obtaining some success from better days. The show was funny enough and held my attention for the most part, but there’s really nothing exceptional about it. It resides somewhere in a purgatory between being great and being terrible. Every time I was about to give up on it, the play redeemed itself somehow.

One problem was the main character seems to not have it too bad, but is constantly complaining about his upper-middle class life. The play is supposedly about this man’s life falling apart. But I find it hard to give sympathy to a guy who lives in a big house with a personal assistant and a maid who is there daily. Even when he is forced to sell his house, his maid and assistant are helping him pack. “My life, my life!” he exclaims to convey his frustrations. His constant laments come off as whining instead of some sort of confession or, at the very least, neurosis.

There can be a certain comedy in his extreme emotional discomfort, but it ultimately it misses as comedic and comes off as just annoying. Part of this is writing and part is acting (and perhaps even the directing). Sometimes it’s hard to decipher who is to blame for flawed theatre, and often most fingers are pointed at the actors (perhaps rightfully so, as they also get most of the glory). The surface-level acting fails to delve into any real depth of emotion. Most of the characters seem superficial. The actors do not humanize the characters and make them seem like real people, rather, they seem like two-dimensional characters. However, lead actor David Pevsner maintains a consistent likeable presence (and consistency in one of the most important aspects of any performance).

Something that bothered me about this play was that it was so ordinary. There was not much passion in it. Theatre, or any kind of art for that matter, should be pushing the boundaries of the form, looking for a deeper concept of communication, trying to be novel and original. Many scenes were conventional and at times contrived. Furthermore, when Louie holds a reading of his screenplay (based on his real life), it repeats a large chunk of the play. Then this happens again when he turns his screenplay into a Broadway musical. When the story is repeated it becomes monotonous. Adversely, when the musical portion of the play hits, it completely resuscitates the whole thing and reenergizes the stage. When the play abruptly turns musical there was a new intriguingly fresh feel. Mixing genres is one of the chief innovations that make this play worth watching. While parts seemed lifelessly manufactured, I give the writer credit for being modern and edgy within certain scenes and subject matter.

The supporting characters in the play provide much of the comedy. While the Latina housekeeper Ana, played by Veronica Alicino, provides plenty of laughs, she seems to just be extra in terms of plot and character. I wish they would tie her in to the story more by maybe giving her larger concern for her job or her employer. By the same token, his relatives and former classmate who exist purely in his imagination (though they are amusing) should be more connected to the plot as well. Ross, played with conviction by Stephen Marshall, served as an anchor for the lead character and much of the story, which is illustrated when he interrupts the outlandish musical number. Nick Cobey gives the most human and honest performance while simultaneously not missing a comedic beat as Scott, who our protagonist has an unrequited crush on.

The set, designed by Joel Daavid, was a definite strength in this production. There were panels that flipped to change the set dressing and smoothly transition to a fantasy sequence, which was fun and revitalizing. You have to love a set that can do tricks. The feature of the rotating panels really helped in the pacing, giving the play new life while not losing momentum to a black out.

Perhaps the biggest redemption of the show came in it’s closing moments. Something happened (and I can’t say what) that made complete sense, but was not predictable. It really tied everything up nicely without seeming like a cheap, overly neat wrap up. As I thought further about what I had watched, all of Louie’s futile complaining led me to reflect on my own life. I realized that we complain about all these things that hardly matter. We put so much energy into pointlessly groaning about traffic and money, and that which is really important has nothing to do with these things. What’s really important are the people close to us and our own self-worth. Most things in your life you have no control over, but we need to take our destiny in our own hands. We are responsible for what happens to us. If you don’t like something about your life, change it. If your relationship is making you miserable, break it off. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t like your city, move. It’s easy to complain, but it’s hard to change. Much like it’s main character, the play needs work, but illuminated by my introspection, I see that it has some strong themes and a good amount of heart.

It Must Be Him is performed Thursdays through Saturdays at 8p.m. and Sundays at 7p.m. through September 4.

The Edgemar Center for the Arts is located at 2437 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405, just past Ben & Jerry’s.

Ticket Prices: $34.99, and a limited number of seats will be available for each performance for $25 with the promo code Sylvia.

Reservations online at www.edgemarcenter.org or by phone at (310) 392-7327.