Chinese Coffee serves a bitter cup of java
September 2, 2008 at 3:29 pm by Curt Holman in A&E
LoneWood Theatre Unit stages the caustic two-man drama Chinese Coffee through Sep. 3 at the back room of Eyedrum Art Gallery, which seems like the play’s ideal habitat. Playwright Ira Lewis presents the lives of two desperate, money-grubbing artists in Greenwich Village, so it it practically begs for a Bohemian locale. Eyedrum’s gravel driveway and folding chairs seem far more appropriate for the play’s seedy setting than, say, such plush venues as the Alliance Theatre or Theatrical Outfit’s Balzer Theatre.
For that matter, a steel cage would be appropriate, too, because Chinese Coffee presents a kind of mano-a-mano grudge match with rules along the lines of “Two men, enter, one man leaves.” The play unfolds as an after-midnight confrontation between Jake (Patrick Wood), a theatrical photographer and would-be writer, and Harry (Steven Westdahl), a published but struggling novelist. The equivalent of the opening bell rings when Harry pounds on Jake’s door, demanding to know if the older man has the money he owes Harry, and whether he’s read the manuscript for Harry’s latest novel.
Compared to Harry’s jittery mania — “I’m not hysterical, I’m indignant!” –, Jake comes across as a portrait of calm: “I’m in control, and you’re out of control.” Jake also comes across as subtly manipulative, pushing Harry’s buttons while steering the conversation away from books and money, and we realize ahead of Harry that his friend has at least one hidden agenda. Westdahl and Wood’s performances suggest the collision of the proverbial irresistible force and immovable object. Westdahl all but shakes himself to pieces with rage and restless-leg syndrome (with his bushy mustache, he looks almost canine). Wood comes across as more sphinx-like, a knife hidden in his calm demeanor.
Directed by Dikran Tulaine, Chinese Coffee addresses such issues as the mutually exploitative aspects of friendship, especially the friendship between creative artists, and raises the question as to when a failing artist should pull the plug on his dreams. While those themes are always relevant, but Chinese Coffee still feels dated. The play takes place in 1982, yet sounds like it’s decades older, given the way the characters
throw around slang terms that pre-date the beatnik era: “dame,” “palooka,” “cockamamie,” etc. Tulaine cultivates snappy performances from his actors, but the piece eventually feels claustrophobic and long-winded. Nevertheless, such a theatrical bloodsport can have a bracing effect on the audience, and Chinese Coffee is defintely not decaffeinated.
Photo by Steven Westdahl
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