The End of Civilization?
As we know it, there certainly wouldn't be any reproduction
by Gretchen Collins, 1/5/2006
Tom Hanks had only a volleyball (Wilson) to keep him company on the deserted island he landed on in Cast Away. But Josh, also a castaway, has been getting along just fine, thanks to back issues of Martha Stewart Living. Say what?! It's just one of many twists and turns in Love of Last Resort, presented by the Nightingale Theater and Ragged Blade Productions. This is a comedy with a serious side.The play opens Jan. 12 for a two-weekend run.
Ragged Blade Productions of St. Louis has been trying to bring Love of Last Resort to Tulsa for a couple of years, but complications prevented it until now. The production stars T.J. Bolan as Josh and Kris Farnsworth as Matt.
You may have seen Bowlan in Theatre Tulsa's William Shakespeare Abridged. Farnsworth just finished work in Frog and Toad at the Delaware Playhouse. Here, the two become fellow travelers in the South Pacific where there is more at stake than being rescued.
Our intrepid Josh has been a modern-day castaway on a deserted resort island for the past three years. The resort was reportedly hit by a hurricane. Okay, we've got to suspend some of our reality systems here, but play along, it will be fun.
"Realistically," explains director Jason Watts, "if a resort island were to be hit by a hurricane, nobody would be left on the island. People would be coming back to the island, if only just to clean it up.
"The point, of course, is he's trying to create a metaphor for somewhat of an Eden-type landscape. It's certainly a place that is outside society. Here we can define how we choose to love as opposed to being in society. You're held to certain conventions."
Writers Jerry Rabushka and jeff schoenfeld (yes, jeff prefers small case because the small "j" reminds him of a happy face) have made Josh's time on the island interesting. Martha Stewart aside, Josh has entertained himself by repeatedly changing his persona. New name, new look, new energy. "He likes to redefine himself," Watts says. "At the point that the play takes place he has evolved his character into that of Josh." Who he really is, is one of the points of the play, so we won't give that away. "The whole thing is fairly metaphorical. There are certain archetypes at play here."
Matt, whose personality seems more serious and steadfast, gets fed up with the goings on that have proliferated the cruise. He literally takes a leap of faith into the water. "He wasn't into the whole scene," Watts says. But when he washes up on shore--after escaping the oversexed gay cruise, things change for both of them.
The character of Josh lives in the now, forgetting everything else. "That's great," Watts says, "but that's the illusion. The reality is represented in Matt. There is a past and there is a future. You can live in the moment fine, but you want some sort of string, something that connects you to who you were." Matt reminds Josh of reality and dishes out doses of practicality.
In fact, Matt wants to get off the island and go home, but Josh is quite happy staying. "He's chosen to live there," Watts says. "He gets lonely, and he prays for a boy out of dreams to get washed ashore, and then it happens. Or, kind of."
Josh tries to transform Matt into that boy of dreams. He concocts scenarios such as a porno shoot in Greenland, a gay soap opera, and a bondage fantasy. Through this, the two men begin to understand themselves better and realize there may be feelings for one another. But Matt isn't sure about the growing relationship. He asks Josh: "Am I just a love of last resort or are you actually choosing me?"
There are comedic aspects of Love of Last Resort. Martha Stewart's resourcefulness is a continuing joke throughout the play. Josh likes to primp and dress fashionably. "He's a flamboyant gay character," Watts explains. "Martha Stewart has given him the means to do that." Watts hopes to find a little cash so the production team can whip up all kinds of Stewart gizmos that could be made from things left at the resort. (Flashback to the Carol Burnett Show where she made a dress out drapes!)
"There's a lot of humor in the text," Watts says, "but a good amount of the humor in the play comes from the design elements." But ultimately the play is about having a relationship with somebody and defining each other in that relationship." That includes defining how you love one another. "That's the big discovery. Josh has things to teach Matt that are fairly obvious and forthright. But Matt brings him back to earth." That question of, am I just a love of last resort, is the key to their relationship and what happens.
You might think this is just a piece of fluff, but Richard Tar, critic for GatewayArts.net says it "...asked some big questions about the anxiety over taking what is available, the loss of personal freedom to human interaction, and the need for courage in the face of love."
"They both take self-journeys in the play," Watts says. "It materializes through their dream together. The characters have their own issues and they're very different." Matt is an inexperienced, conservative male--and not quite out of the closet. The character of Josh is very open about his sexuality.
Despite a rather large gay population, Tulsa hasn't presented much in the way of entertainment to fill this niche. "I think this is going to be a litmus test," Watts says. "We're spreading the word. The Nightingale is very open to catering to them. They need to come out and support it. Hopefully, they will. It's a great play and it stretches across into universal themes that anyone can relate to and enjoy."
Love of Last Resort is a romance, with gay themes. "It is culture specific," Watts says. "With that in mind, some people might not enjoy it." It's not for children, but straights can enjoy it if they are not deterred by gay subject matter. Watts says it is a rather tame play with no nudity.
The Nightingale crew plan to crank up the heat in the theatre, decorate in resort finery, and add some island sounds for Love of Last Resort. "As far as entertainment goes," Watts adds, "it's a step out of the cold and into the Caribbean." It's a good thing.
Dates include: January 12-14, 19-21, 2006. All performances begin at 8pm.