"Four"
*** (3 / 4 stars)
Secondstage Theatre 1333 P St. NW Dupont Metro (Red Line) (202) 332-3300 Performances are Thursday and Friday at 8:30 p.m., Sunday at 7:30 p.m. $25 general admission.
Called by critics "the debut of the year," "Four" is a provocative and humorous commentary on American stereotypes and clich?s. In fact, America itself is a clich? according to the writer, Christopher Shinn, a Hartford, Conn., native who now resides in New York. Shinn wrote the script for "Four" while still in college and has received an unprecedented amount of success for a playwright of his age.
"Four" is very much like the hour-long foreplay session between the characters because it touches on all the hot topics. Indeed, Shinn has been brave by using the very politically incorrect "n" word as well as some others that might make the more sensitive twitch.
However, the play is eloquently presented, and Shinn never allows it to border on lewdness or sexual gratuitousness, despite the simulated sex scenes.
The first scene opens with a nervous June, who is waiting in a deserted parking lot for his blind date, Joe, whom he met on the Internet.
Joe Phillips is a smooth-talking, loud black man who's gay and brimming with confidence, dressed in '70s-style clothing complete with glasses to add flair. June is a white man whose life is otherwise normal except for his sexual orientation which, before meeting Joe, he had not yet explored.
Joe has left his daughter and wife at home under the pretext that he has a conference in Boston. Meanwhile, hip 16-year-old Dexter, a Latino drug dealer, is courting Joe's daughter, Abigayle, on the phone, and trying to get her to come see the Fourth of July fireworks. The unnamed mother remains in bed due to a mysterious illness.
Joe picks up June and dives into a commentary on American ideals while on the way to the movies. "Driving has got to be the most American thing there is!" he says. "[America] it's about excess, flair ... breaking the law, that's another American thing."
Joe, trying to put June at ease, tells him he is "cute" and strokes his thigh. He instructs June to scream out of the window to get into the spirit of the night - Fourth of July, fireworks, sex and freedom. June declines and Joe caresses his face saying, "We'll get you screaming later, huh?"
Finally they enter the movie theater to the sounds of "Never Been Kissed" in the background. On their way to sex, they talk about the Bible, AIDS and Joe's volunteer work. Finally, June admits how "horny" he is and flings himself at Joe for a very loud, rough tumble.
Back home, Abigayle is trying to work out her ambivalence toward a very relentless Dexter, who finally gets her out of the house and takes her to his neighborhood, which has a high population of blacks - something he's very proud of since it is clear from his clothing and speech that he's trying to emulate the casual "gangsta" look.
However, Abigayle proves even more difficult, and a frustrated Dexter shouts, "Why you don't talk to me? You think I'm a little kid. I play with Legos and stick my finger up my nose. You think I'm stupid." When he gets no reaction he plays the color card and says "Is it 'cause I'm white?"
Abigayle corrects him: "Half-white, half-spic. Don't sell yourself short."
The play is clearly a satire, and no one can complain it is prejudiced because Shinn takes a shot at everyone. However, between the laughter and the emotional scenes - where characters sometimes have almost lugubrious fights with their emotions - the play is bumpy, and Shinn takes on so many issues (interracial dating, teenage sex, homosexuality, adultery and AIDS) that they cannot all be fully developed.
Because of temporal constraints, the characters jump from one topic to the next within the same scene and the acting is weak, especially from Scott Kerns, who plays June. He seems much too aware of his presence on stage. Cesar Guadamuz, who plays Dexter, steals the show by providing comic relief, and thus keeps the whole thing from turning into a tedious diatribe. He also provides some of the best emotional scenes - very frank performances, especially when he talks about his poor, dysfunctional family.
All in all, "Four" is entertaining.
