A Prayer For My Daughter
What is most surprising about the revival of the late Thomas Babe’s 1978 cynical dramedy set in the grungy bowels of an NYPD precinct’s holding room is how little has changed and if anything, has only gotten worse. A pair of crooked, rogue cops on the graveyard shift—each battling their own personal demons, extorts justice through a series of manipulative interrogations on a pair of petty criminals caught inside their sinister web.
As a work of social commentary, Babe’s play proves it is still relevant, speaking to the unethical and apathetic brutality of those who are supposed to uphold the law. In terms of its theatrical quotient, director Albert Alarr fully exhausts the savage, mind-numbing tension of these anti-heroes with exploitive, hard-edged realism until all subtlety is lost, overpowering the subtext and reference to Yeats’ poem of hope and purity shining through but for the less than satisfying end.
The cast makes up for where the play lacks with their total commitment and embodiment of these roles, turning out explosive, powerhouse performances for each. Although Babe’s roles are stereotypical tough guys above and below the law with nicknames that sound lifted from the pages of pulp fiction: Jimmy the Junkie (Matthew Thompson) and Sean the Con (Gary Lamb). Add the alcoholic Detective Kelly (Kevin Brief) and his partner, Detective Delasante, (Matthew J. Williamson), an Italian stud hooked on heroin, and the characters could walk right out of the reels of any film noir. Nevertheless, Babe’s meaty monologues provide plenty of grist for these talented actors to sink their teeth into and the sheer physical stamina required throughout is impressive to watch.
What at first appears to be a wisecracking whodunit quickly turns into a psychological mind game that takes no prisoners, except for the pair of detainees who are evenly outmatched. The sexual undercurrent of homoeroticism lays bare the overcompensating machismo of these alpha males and makes the so-called “daughters” of the weak submit to their latent curiosities. Be advised there is full frontal nudity in this play.
The ingenious set by Sarah Krainin authentically transforms the intimate space like a time capsule with well-placed artifacts of the period. Performed in a semi-round, take care of where to sit, center stage last two rows are best to enjoy the action, otherwise you might feel as if you’re onstage dodging body blows.
Framing the proscenium are raggedy window blinds that nuance the self-made prison these men find themselves in, and allows Michael Franks’ light design of dawn’s early light to seep in gradually with a lovely effect. Special kudos should be given to Williamson for a fantastic recovery from a lighting snafu that could’ve briefly stopped the show, but for his quick-thinking actually added an electrifying moment that seamlessly working into the scene.
Fans of Mamet or current crime TV shows will enjoy this absorbing clash of brawn and brain that echoes a sentiment made by Friedrich Nietzsche: Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
“A Prayer For My Daughter”
Runs through March 20
Thurs, Fri and Sat at 8pm
Crown City Theatre Company
11031 Camarillo Street
North Hollywood, 91602
(Inside St. Matthew’s Church)
PH: 800-838-3006
www.brownpapertickets.com