Portrait of an Artist
New Conservatory Theatre Center
San Francisco, CA 94102
+1 415 861 8972
http://www.nctcsf.org/
Review © 2009, Wcities
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Portrait of an Artist |
25 Van Ness Avenue New Conservatory Theatre Center San Francisco, CA 94102 +1 415 861 8972 http://www.nctcsf.org/ |
The New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) and director John Dixon present Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Based on a Totally True Story in their Walker Theatre. Influenced by Aguirre-Sacasa's experience surrounding his previous hit, The Muckle Man, True Story chronicles the life of a young writer attempting to deal with his love life and family drama while teetering on the brink of success. Narrator and protagonist Ethan Keene, charmingly portrayed by Benjamin Pither, juggles a struggling romance with live-in boyfriend Michael (Brandon Finch), a father (Steve Budd) in the midst of a marital crisis, and a Hollywood producer (Michaela Greeley) helping him adapt his latest play into a screenplay for a horror movie. While keeping his day job as a comic book writer for DC Comics and having regular meetings with his editor (Brady Boyd), Ethan slowly gets caught up in the Hollywood fantasy of big budgets and A-list stars. Both hilarious and sweet, the author uses his experience as a Marvel comic book writer to illustrate the melding between the fantastic and the ordinary, exploring what happens to the people in a writer's life while he's embroiled in a project. Comic book touches permeate the play, expressing both the yearning for the extraordinary and a sense of the ridiculous. Ethan writes for The Flash, the fastest man alive, wishing that, like his fictional hero, he could also zip from place to place instantly so he can be on the scene for everyone who needs him. Even the set, neutral toned in browns and rust with a backlit city skyline and faux brick, has the soft, painted feel of a comic panel. Though the comic book subtext and in-jokes will not lose any audience members unfamiliar with the industry, the experience will definitely be enhanced for those who do get it. Despite a few distracting lighting issues where the actors speaking were left mostly in shadow, Dixon has assembled a top-notch cast with pitch-perfect comedic timing. True Story is a great light-hearted picture of an artist pursuing commercial success and the people who love him. -Joanna Ortiz Performances: Through December 16th Tickets: $22-$34 Review © 2009, Wcities |
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