by Joel Elkins~
The Leopard, a one-man play now playing at the Working Stage Theater, presents a compelling fictionalized picture of Ernest Hemingway’s final day.
Playwright Yabo Yablonsky presents a Hemingway not usually seen. Missing is the bravado and pompousness often associated with the man popularly known as “Papa.” During his last day filled with despondency, nostalgia and self-reflection, the protagonist identifies more with his lesser known and less flattering sobriquet “Ernest Hemorrhoids” while laying open rarely witnessed vulnerabilities. He boasts of “fornicating fluently in five languages” yet admits to covering his sexuality with “blood sports and fisticuffs.” He admits lusting after the beautiful Ava Gardner who never even gave him a second look. He envies Ernie Pyle and others whose art seems to appear effortlessly like doves from a magician’s sleeves, while recognizing that much of his work is the product of what he calls the great “BS machine” at work.
The title of the play is taken from Hemingway’s short story “The Snows of Kiliminjaro” and gives us some insight into how the man envisioned himself. The protagonist in the story is, like Hemingway, a writer near the end of his life, who realizes that he has experienced more than most men ever will, yet questions his contributions to the world. On an African trek, he discovers the carcass of a leopard found near the summit of Kiliminjaro and ponders what the great animal was seeking at that altitude, why it had chosen that strange place to die and how it must have felt when its paws first felt the cold of the snow.
Hemingway – who once wrote “how much better to die in all the happy period of undisillusioned youth, to go out in a blaze of light, than to have your body worn out and old and illusions shattered” – clearly identifies with that leopard. He denies that he ever actively sought death when he placed himself in war zones and other dangerous situations but claims never to have actually feared it: “Dying is only bad when it takes too long or hurts so much to humiliate.”
Now, as his mind and body begin to betray him, he laments the “curse of time” while seeking refuge in alcohol and his memories. Reminiscent of the “most interest man in the world” from the beer commercials, he recounts parties, brawls and near-death experiences alongside the likes of George Raft, Carlos Gambino, Gertrude Stein, Ford Maddox Ford, Igor Stravinsky and Picasso. Some he admires, some he despises, and some he merely condescends.
John E. Goff gives a riveting performance as the man who is bigger than life, yet ultimately surrenders to the inevitable grip of death. Under T.J. Castrovono’s direction, Goff’s delivery is powerful yet nuanced, interspersing angry tirades with effective moments of silent reflection.
If I had any nit to pick, it was the lack of a defining moment, a climactic coup de grace to grip the audience, lingering with it long after it leaves the theater. The play’s strength, its natural train-of-thought structure and delivery, may be its one weakness.
The Leopard is performed Fridays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through October 9, 2011
Working Stage Theater is located at 1516 N. Gardner St. (just north of Sunset) in Hollywood
Ticket prices: $15 (Students and seniors $10)
Reservations online at www.Plays411.com or by phone at (323) 960-7784
