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Neil LaBute Brings God Into the Mix in 'The Break of Noon'
Kevin Anderson in Neil LaBute's "The Break of Noon" at the Geffen Playhouse - Photo by Michael Lamont.
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Kevin Anderson in Neil LaBute's "The Break of Noon" at the Geffen Playhouse - Photo by Michael Lamont.
Neil LaBute has become the poet laureate of bad behavior, the national chronicler of people treating each other abominably. He's gotten a rep for misogyny from movies such as In the Company of Men and plays such as Fat Pig, but I think this is a reductive and inaccurate view. In both of those works, his sympathy is clearly with the victims. Just because the plays focus on abusers or damaged people, the audience shouldn't infer that the playwright approves of their actions. LaBute takes an intriguing and successful step sideways from this theme with his new play The Break of Noon, currently playing in its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, wherein he wonders if a selfish jerk could actually be the recipient of a message from God.
John Smith (Kevin Anderson) is the only survivor of a workplace shooting, and he claims this is because he heard the voice of God telling him to stay put where he was and he'd be safe. A detective (John Earl Jelks) is dubious about John's story, but he can't disprove it--the shooter committed suicide after his massacre. The media, in the form of talk show host Jenny (Tracee Chimo), also doubts John's veracity, but he uses her program to transform from celebrity survivor to evangelist, expounding upon the messages God supposedly wants him to impart. John attempts to make up with and/or use his ex-wife Jesse and his ex-mistress Ginger (both played by Catherine Dent), but he's less of a saint than either woman hopes for. As John's power and wealth increase, the one question remains: Is he telling the truth?
Smith is an interesting role for an actor, because sometimes he’s genuinely sympathetic and sometimes he’s repellent, a deliberate problem for the audience to wrestle with. Anderson wisely doesn’t try to sway viewers one way or another but instead focuses on Smith’s troubled humanity, the one constant in an impressive balancing act of a performance. Jelks is sharp as the amusingly self-aware lawyer that takes Smith’s case, but he dominates the stage with casual brilliance as the blunt detective trying to punch holes in Smith’s story. Dent is good as ex-wife Jesse, but she shines as Ginger, funny and angry and sad in rapid succession, an expert turn by an accomplished actress. Finally, Chimo is hilarious as the condescending Jenny, but she’s even better as the hooker Gigi, transitioning from silly flirtation to heartbreaking anguish in a superb display of talent.
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Director Jo Bonney has a sure hand with her cast, but the staging seems a bit lackluster, and the blast of light from the proscenium arch after each scene is a gimmick that gets tired quickly. This well-wrought play feels like LaBute effectively answering those who’ve criticized his choice of protagonists in earlier works, arguing that even the deeply flawed have the potential for goodness or even transcendence. It’s not the newest idea, considering that many religions have said that for centuries, and yet for those who insist on their morality being simple, black hats and white hats, the conclusion of the play may seem like a disconcerting and radical statement.
The Break of Noon
The Geffen Playhouse
10886 LeConte Ave., Westwood
Runs Tues.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sat. 3 p.m., Sun. 2 & 7 p.m., thru March 6
Tickets $47-77
(310) 208-5454 or www.geffenplayhouse.com
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