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May 13, 2005
Searching for Heaven on Earth
Gil Hayward's cliché-ridden play manages to entertain with
its comedy.
BAILA LAZARUS
The woman-leaves-husband-to-find-herself scenario has been ensconced
in our sensibilities since Meryl Streep disappeared on Dustin Hoffman
almost 30 years ago in Kramer vs. Kramer. Even the idea that
a wife might "find herself" in the arms of a lesbian lover
is not that shocking anymore. So any new production along these
lines would either have to be so profound and well-acted that new
insights arise at every turn or it's got to be a comedy. Thankfully,
writer Gil Hayward chose the latter for his version of the story
in One Man's Heaven.
While that might sound harsh, One Man's Heaven is not a deep or
intricate play and therefore it is the comedy that is its salvation.
The roles are not only not complex, they are quite clichéd:
there is Adam (Chris Robson), a bland cartoonist whose relationship
with his wife, Eve (Iris Paluly), has fallen into the doldrums.
Around the protagonists are Adam's younger sister, Kate (Allyson
Grant) – a multi-pierced, tattooed, angry lesbian; Peter, Adam's
oversexed, overconfident, vulgar but hilarious close friend, played
by Jacques Lalonde, who also directed the production; Jamie (Rukiya
Bernard), a stunning black woman who has eyes for Peter; and Phil
(Darcey Johnson), Adam's agent.
The play opens with Adam and Eve and their friends celebrating a
recent success in Adam's work. Within the first 15 minutes, Eve
announces she is heading to a two-week women's retreat, leaving
Adam standing lamely behind.
Perhaps this is the first problem with the play – with very
little happening before Eve leaves, we have no idea what
Adam and Eve's relationship is like. There's no sense of a sublimely
happy couple, or one with many difficulties; and since we can't
tell what the relationship is like before Eve's transformation,
there is no context in which we can empathize with Adam at her decision
to go. The few things we do find out are revealed while Eve's away
and Adam is confessing his marriage woes to Peter. But all he talks
about is sex – the fact that their sex life is not a turn on
for either of them and that his wife claims she hasn't had an orgasm
in two years. But there's nothing else in the way of complaints
or interests. That's it – boring sex.
When Eve comes back from her trip, we are treated to another series
of clichés. First, she can't talk about it, then all she
can muster is "I want more." "I found myself."
"I'm not yours," etc., etc. Meanwhile, all Adam
can repeat over and over is that he loves her and he doesn't understand
all the changes happening to her.
It is during the interaction between these two characters that the
play is weakest. There doesn't seem to be much of a reason for any
of Eve's decisions. Her desire to explore a lesbian relationship
doesn't seem strong enough to actually cause her to leave her marriage
and yet her interest in making her marriage work doesn't seem to
be strong enough to compel her to stay. Robson's acting is less
than adequate, the drama is not profound and the comedy is often
absent.
But that all changes when Lalonde gets back on stage, for though
Adam and Eve are straight, sombre and confused, Peter is the comedic
vessel that brings the play to life.
Whether it's talking to Adam about sex, dating a woman who has a
secret or drunkenly philosophizing about life, Lalonde keeps the
audience smiling.
In one extremely funny scene, Peter uses a giant Teddy bear to show
Adam how to find a woman's G-spot. When Jamie walks in, Peter explains,
"It's a new CPR technique from India. Like the Heimlich manoeuvre
but lower." Lalonde owns the stage when he's on it and seems
to be the only character not trying to act.
While One Man's Heaven is billed as a "tale of human
transformation," the transformation seems to only have taken
place in one of the secondary characters in the play. By the end,
Adam is still a confused, head-shaking, pathetic husband who seems
completely at odds with his own life. When he points to his face
and says, drunkenly, "Look at this – this is pain,"
he looks drunk and angry but not at all hurt.
In the end, this play reminded me of sitcoms like Will and Grace
and Ally McBeal – some good writing, funny lines and
secondary characters that steal the show. Overall – a fun night
out and definitely worth two-for-one Tuesdays.
One Man's Heaven plays at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville
Island until May 21. Tickets are $15 and $18 and can be purchased
from Festival Box Office at 604-257-0366. For more information,
visit www.immediatetheatre.com.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver.
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