Playwright: William Nedved
At: Gift Theater at National Pastime
Phone: (773) 792-3563; $15-$20
Runs through: June 27
In William Nedved's world premiere play, the playwright attempts to say something about the process of growing up. His main character, Craig (played with an appealing winsomeness by Benjamin Montague) has just returned from one of those backpacking trips through Europe to settle down in a new condo on South Michigan Avenue (how he fronts months-long excursions to Europe and brand new condos at 25 and jobless is never convincingly explained). Now it's time to start his 'real' life. Through crisply crafted scenes (Michael Patrick Thornton's direction keeps things moving at a sprightly pace) tied to major holidays, we witness Craig's 'growth' through one year. We meet his friends (Dane, a clueless wannabe with lots of dreams in the bank, but little collateral in the talent and drive departments; a married couple who once partied with Craig and who are now settling into an uneasy domesticity), relatives (tough, funny cousin Molly; Merle, his mother, who is going through a difficult late-in-life divorce; and yuppie brother Brian, who has drinking and commitment problems), and lovers (Zoe, an unrequited love and Amanda, an unsatisfying partner).
Problem is: Nedved hasn't bothered to give us much reason to care about most of his characters. Craig, at the center, has nothing going for him other than an interest in travel. It would have helped if maybe he had a dream, or at least a little more angst about his own lack of direction. But Craig seems to just bounce along, passive, never changing much. He certainly hasn't been endowed with much motivation. Why does he love Zoe? We never see a reason. Why does he not want to be with Amanda? We never really see what brought them together or what ties them (a truly unbelievable moment occurs late in the play when we discover Amanda believes she is the victim of alien abduction and sexual abuse). How does he feel about his mother? We don't really know.
A Young Man in Pieces needs to tie its pieces together a little more coherently to be the serious commentary it wants to be on human nature. As it stands, it's bland and most of its characters are united by only one quality: the ability to be annoying and pedestrian. The playwright may need to live a little more to give his one-note characters more depth. The only spark in the whole play is a funny, poignant speech made by the mother (competent work from Alexandra Main), in which she describes a botched suicide attempt. That speech works because it's detailed and endowed with the kind of reality good writers need to traffic in to make their work come alive. As an audience member, it was the only time during the entire course of the play that I really sat up and took notice. Harness that kind of detail and truth, and maybe somewhere Nedved will find the great play he wants to write.
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