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REVIEW: DRUMMER WANTED
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Crash symbol
"Drummer Wanted" builds potently on the story of a young drummer who's been injured in an accident but still has to rock, to explore the barriers in a mother-son relationship.
By ROBIN EISGRAU
Offoffoff.com
(Originally reviewed in November 2001 at PS 122.)
Suburban ennui gets looked at under an electron microscope in "Drummer
Wanted," an intense examination of the dynamics between a mother and her son.
In this play, Frank, a drummer in his late 20s, gets into a motorcyle
accident that severely injures his leg, and moves back in with his mother
while he recovers.
There's a palpable tension between Mom (played by Ellen
LeCompte) and Frank (played by Pete Simpson) as she tries to encourage him
to be more self-sufficent and he seems uninterested in anything except his
dream of building a recording studio in the garage. The dialogue in "Drummer
Wanted" seems to convey the stagnation in the characters lives as Frank, for
the most part, barks choppy sentences at his mom, a la Bobcat Goldthwait, and
Mom's replies are soaked with resignation.
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| DRUMMER WANTED |
Written and directed by: Richard Maxwell.
Cast: Pete Simpson, Ellen LeCompte.
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| SCHEDULE |
P.S. 122
150 First Ave. at 9th St.
Feb. 21 - March 17, 2002
(212) 477-5288
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There's a bit of music too, as Frank pounds on his drums a couple of times
and Mom plays the piano. At one point they go to a karaoke bar where Mom
sings songs that seem directly pointed at Frank and Frank goes for rock
cliches. ("My leg is broken but I still have to rock," he says.) Then there's
the matter of the settlement money, which turns out to be a lot more than
they expected and changes things dramatically.
The performances are very
good; both actors bring involving emotional qualities to their roles.
There's an economy of mood and intensity that propels the action in this
play and leads to a very satisfying ending.
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NOVEMBER 26, 2001
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
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