Sex and society in 'Hurlyburly'

One man alone might act like a monkey but a group of men tend to act like apes.\nDavid Rabe's dramatic spectacle "Hurlyburly," directed by the Bloomington Playwrights Project's Richard Perez, offers audiences a blend of coked-out "blah-blah-blah" and fallacies of misogynist reasoning from a gaggle of desperate and disillusioned friends. Campus community members intending to attend this production might expect dialogue-heavy philosophical action and the opportunity to expand a viewer's always-limited worldview.\n"Hurlyburly" portrays the inner-working of male in-group formation pertaining to a group of four friends and their succession of lovers, wives and whores.\nEddie, played by Mike Price, acts as the linchpin of the action and all the characters revolve through his window-frame perception of reality. Eddie's disillusionment with the televised modern-machine world -- he says he feels "trapped" and "caged in" -- fuels his desire to entertain a "toxic" state of reasoning as his preferred method of conversation and consultation. \nPrice's role as Eddie was superb considering the voice-inflection limitations of rapid-fire dialogue, and he continues to amuse and entertain the audience throughout a long-winded script. The ensemble cast further supports Eddie's emotional rise from his cocaine use and the depressing logic generated from his marijuana and alcohol abuse, despite the character's frequent verbal lamentations of dramatic prose that border on rhetorical jargon.\nHis friend Phil, played by Sebastian Tejeda, acts as the friend-in-need throughout the play and he seeks the guidance of Eddie, Mickey -- played by Patrick Doolin -- and Artie, played by Steve Heise. The foursome cycles from narcotic use to sexual desire to political lies based on which character believes he can prescribe Phil the help he is thought to need at that moment.\nTejeda's role as Phil is also worthwhile considering the emotional climbs from calm to rage the character undertakes on numerous occasions throughout the play. His anger seems realistic considering the circumstances and his presence does not outshine the ensemble cast despite the real possibility of Phil's character doing so throughout other productions.\nThroughout "Hurlyburly" the surface-level dialogue speaks to the woman as a "snake," the sex-refusing woman as a "bitch" and the sexual promiscuous woman as a "whore." All the male characters seem to believe dipping their wicks within feminine pools is a key to personal salvation and eternal happiness, despite the real possibility that masculine happiness is defined from within each human mind. The monkey alone might think of masturbation but a group of apes thinks only of inseminating the egg with one's seed.\nArtie collects a young woman named Donna -- played by Allison Baker-Garrison, as a result, from his elevator to provide his friends with "a care package for people not in a serious relationship." Eddie becomes upset with Mickey for having sex with his would-be-woman Darlene -- played by Stephanie Harrison -- the night before. All the male characters are quick to disagree with the ridiculous nature of their friends' feelings about themselves, but when the magnifying glass is turned on any one particular person, they all agree to subjugate the woman to the role of second-class citizen based on their "sex appeal" and "sex availability."\nMickey suggests Eddie and Darlene "go with the flow" in our electronic age and have sex together, because his remorse for having playing a pivotal role in their "triangular bullshit" might find relief by sacrificing an easy score and deferring to his friend. Phil's depiction of himself as feeling lost and unhappy without his wife and child, moreover, continues their male group dynamic projecting sex as means to emotional and spiritual health.\nDoolin shines in the role of Mickey, and Heise exemplifies the friend-with-a-mouth few men enjoy listening to but most friends appreciate hearing. Bonnie, played by Amy Wendling, deserves credit for filling in the necessary holes generated from loose action and ambiguous thought throughout the play, although her role did not ask much in the way of dramatic activity. \n"Hurlyburly" also portrays the outer-working of masculine psyches pertaining to the self-actualization never realized by any of the male characters. Eddie exemplifies the masculine struggle to discover self-worth and self-acceptance among a patriarchal world, for instance, through his attempt to conform his reality by drug use within the illusionary constraints his friends place on him and themselves. \nPerez's direction of "Hurlyburly" is often observed through the slick blocking of characters on stage and the periodic moments of humor felt by every audience member at least once throughout the show. The audience ovation at spectacle's end seemed to reflect an appreciation toward all the characters for having kept pace with the scripted dialogue and for providing them with a rare glimpse into the recreational use of drugs in 1980s Hollywood. \nNone of the male characters in "Hurlyburly" finds his real self throughout the play, and the audience is left pondering whether or not each character will ever realize their ideal life. Eddie seems content on snorting his troubles through his nose until the end, and his thoughts about "neutron bombs" and televised "shit" continues to haunt his heart, mind and soul beyond the death of one of his friends.\nRabe's "Hurlyburly" invites all audience members to a view of the American zoo showcasing mankind. \nThe play offers the audience much more than foul language, exaggerated drug use and womanizing perceptions of reality. \nEach friend alone acts like a monkey, but when he is with his group of friends they all act like apes. \nPhil says in a note to his friends: "The guy who dies in an accident understands destiny." \n"Hurlyburly" continues June 24-25 and July 1-2 at 8 p.m., and June 26 and July 3 at 2 p.m. at the John Waldron Arts Center Rose Firebay. General admission tickets are $12 and $10 for students and seniors.