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    Theater Review: Original Productions Theatre’s World Premiere ‘Abundant Life’

    Original Productions Theatre continues its mission to present new, mostly locally written works with a handsome production of Cory Skurdal’s Abundant Life, directed by Joe Bishara.

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    We meet two gay men, millennial Alex (Jeff White) and baby boomer Bruce (Jaimie Schwartz), on a park bench near the statehouse in an unnamed town where they work, with the backdrop of a vague protest behind them. The two find a friendship that grows from uneasy to a rich and deep connection. That friendship starts with Alex’s not-unlikely assumption he’s being picked up, then arguing about the state of the world socially and politically, as Alex makes a case for the Christianity that’s led him through the other side of horrific trauma and he sees as the key to leading the abundant life of the title.

    That core relationship is mostly delightful. The chemistry between Schwartz and White crackles with real warmth and a sense that these characters are people you want to know and spend time with. There aren’t many surprises in this main story, but there are some lovely turns of writing – like a sly equivocation of internet trolling with Bruce remembering calling an old man putting the moves on him a “troll” in his youth – and some stirring directorial choices, making the most out of lighting and sound to build out the three dimensions of the world, especially on a wrenching flashback/memory recounting delivered by White.

    The play goes off the rails with the other scenes – interspersing the sweetness and equanimity of the Bruce and Alex relationship with snapshots of a town and world in crisis, played well by an ensemble of Emma Shachter, Bobby Loyd, Vicky Welsh Bragg, Euan Baker, Heather Caldwell, Charlie Rowe, Rachel Belenker, Niko Carter, Rachel Scherrer and Daniel Rodriguez Hijo, listed as Woman 1-5 and Man 1-5.

    Every person we meet in the non-Alex-Bruce scenes is an outsized cardboard cutout stereotype who often feels like they’re quoting buzzwords drawn out of a hat – a man, pepper sprayed, literally recites every slur for a woman he can name – or reading from a current events Mad Libs. Skurdal attempts the interesting writing exercise of not having any characters name the enemy or the position they’re railing against; in a hilarious example, two people criticize a third’s yard sign with no specifics about what’s on that sign, ending in calling the other person “A loser.” This technique occasionally has what I think is the desired effect of getting the audience to question our assumptions but more often feels like a contortion that makes the people speaking feel like sock puppets.

    Jeff White and Jaimie Schwartz in Original Productions Theatre's 'Abundant Life' - Photo by Joe Bishara/Abbey Theater
    Jeff White and Jaimie Schwartz in Original Productions Theatre’s ‘Abundant Life’ – Photo by Joe Bishara/Abbey Theater

    That both-sides-ism taints the final third when the shouting mob – occasionally very effectively – finally use words like “white supremacy,” softening the blow the play could be landing. The efforts at what I suspect are universality just end up feeling vague: a news anchor reporting on vandalism refers to a “Black-owned business” repeatedly. Can you imagine someone on the news saying those three words about a building at a particular corner that’s been vandalized instead of giving it a name and calling it a “Black-owned bar,” a “Black-owned restaurant,” a “Black-owned bookstore”? Similarly, a podcast opens as though it’s nationally based and then refers to the specific neighborhood of the play without any context. The lack of any grounding in place – even a fictional place – doesn’t give the audience anything to grab onto.

    At its worst, that soft-focus writing ends up – I think inadvertently – reinforcing some points the play feels like it’s otherwise making a stand against. We meet two women, one jogging, one whose neighbors are trying to drive her out, and because we only get to see them as victims, see them in the act of being harassed, the work underlines that’s who they are. The interesting choice of back-lighting the group when they appear as a group, facing the audience, so we can’t see their faces, literalizing “Faceless mob” loses its punch when the characters already seem faceless.

    The warmth the play builds, the sweetness of the main characters, and White’s utter commitment keep Alex’s final plea to Bruce about loving everyone from being the last two pages of an Al Hartley Archie comic book, but not by much. I’m not here to argue some people – who hate, who seek to rob others of their humanity – don’t deserve to not be seen as human, but the fact that every non-main-character we meet gets consigned to that fate feels like it undercuts the message the play is trying to convey.

    Abundant Life runs through Sunday, March 12, at the Abbey Theater of Dublin, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. For tickets and more information, visit optheatre.org.

    Daniel Rodriguez Hijo, Jaimie Schwartz, Niko Carter and Jeff White in Original Productions Theatre's 'Abundant Life' - Photo by Joe Bishara/Abbey Theater
    Daniel Rodriguez Hijo, Jaimie Schwartz, Niko Carter and Jeff White in Original Productions Theatre’s ‘Abundant Life’ – Photo by Joe Bishara/Abbey Theater
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    Richard Sanford
    Richard Sanfordhttp://sanfordspeaks.blogspot.com/
    Richard Sanford is a freelance contributor to Columbus Underground covering the city's vibrant theatre scene. You can find him seeking inspiration at a variety of bars, concert halls, performance spaces, museums and galleries.
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