FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE
FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE, by Terrence McNally, directed by Jasson Minadakis. Marin Theatre Company, VOYEURISTIC EXPERIENCE & STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
Pictured: Frankie (Terri McMahon) & Johnny (Rod Gnapp)Photo by: Ed Smith
An open sofa bed in a state of dishevelment takes up center stage for the entire performance and is reflective of the screwed up personalities of the two characters Terrence McNally has created in this edgy, offbeat and sexual explicit love story. The two characters are Frankie and Johnny of the title who in the first scene are sharing a round of fantastic sex.
Although this 1987 play had successful runs off-Broadway and in regional theaters, it did not receive a Broadway production until 2002 starring Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco (Emmy Award winner for her role in “The Sopranos”) opening to mixed reviews. Selecting this show to kick-off their 2008-2009 season is more than a bit daring and the total evening’s experience is as unsettling as the personalities of the characters in this two handed romp that raises disturbing questions.
Frankie (Terri McMahon ) is a waitress in a restaurant where Johnny (Rod Gnapp) is a short order cook. They have been eyeing each other for a period of months and on this, their first date, have thoroughly enjoyed the sexual interlude. To Frankie, the evening is over and it is time for Johnny to get dressed and leave. Loquacious, hyperactive Johnny insists that he is in love and it is Kismet that their names are the same as the famous lovers of old West legend. He discovers other similarities in their past lives that further solidify his insistence that they get married.
As the play progresses, we learn that both have been deeply hurt in past relationships while seeking personal acceptance and then being physically and emotionally rebuffed. Those incidents can be found in any Psychiatry I course with a few unexpected bombs thrown in. They are looking for an indefinable something that Johnny feels is about to be theirs. As if seeking and denying the truth, they verbally thrust and parry with Johnny being the more vocally aggressive. They are both near the age of 50 and there may not be another chance for either of them. As the veneer of Johnny’s bravado is stripped away and their traumatic pasts unearthed, Frankie’s reticence gradually dissolves but not enough to fully capitulate.
The uncomfortable feeling of being a voyeur is pervasive keeping the audience in abject silence until an unexpected humorous line breaks through. All this takes place on a stunning set ( Kat Conley) that is a cut away of a tenement building revealing a realistic, lived in one room flat with a complete compact kitchen. Michael Palumbo’s lighting adds great atmosphere to the play and musical interludes that includes “Clair de Lune” as the moonlight illuminates the scene.
Rod Gnapp is a powerful actor and he dominates Terri McMahon who has difficulty holding her own but occasionally shows great strength within her weaknesses. It is difficult to develop any empathy for either character as slow pacing stretches the play into two hours and 20 minutes. The play contains full-frontal female and male nudity and is for mature audiences only.
COURTESY OF THEATREWORLD INTERNET MAGAZINE