BACK TO SCHOOL AGAIN // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT"
Cyberbullying is a heinous crime that becomes worse and worse with each and every passing digitally connected day. It's especially rampant in teenagers and that's exactly what Penny Jackson's new play I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT wants to talk about. The connection between sex/nudity and cyber blackmail/revenge has risen to a disgusting level. So I went in with anticipation of a powerful character piece breaking down the walls of this particular problem. Unfortunately, though Jackson's heart and motivations are in the right place, what we're left at watching is a radically uneven play that still feels like it's a first draft.
Olivia Scott plays Vicky Walker, a prep school girl who's the victim of a videotape that shows her and her boyfriend Roger (Alex Esola) having sex. The man who shot is is their schoolmate, and Roger's "good friend" Oliver (Jesse Shane Bronstein), though he won't publicly admit that it was him. Vicky was never aware of the camera, and now her new found "fame" is tearing apart her everyday life. Did her boyfriend Roger know about it? Is he a victim, as he claims, or did he just not know Oliver was going to put it on the internet? All of this COULD lead up to a powerful story, but sadly here it's mostly just unconvincing dialogue and bad acting.
A few bright spots: Olivia Scott does admirable work here as the center of the scandal, though Director Joan Kane would have succeeded more if she had not directed her to scream so much in the beginning of the play. Levels are a good thing. Her boyfriend Roger is also convincingly played by Alex Esola, who is quite possibly (no, definitely) the best actor on stage. Both actors make you feel their fear and confusion, even if their storylines are overwrought and overwritten. The gaggle of ensemble girls (and boy) do fine work, but the rest of the "lead" characters are much less successful. As Vicky's mother, Lue McWilliams is laughably bad. There were even stretches that you could feel her searching for her line, breaking whatever moment she had built with her daughter. Her character is also a bad archetype of the feminist culture that defined the 60's and 70's. As Oliver, Jesse Shane Bronstein has a few nice moments, but most of his delivery is rushed and unfocused. Also a "revenge" twist is way too CW/Lifetime movie to be believable. Two side storylines, that of the unpopular girl Hannah (Charlotte Froyland) and California Skate board dude transfer Ted (Alexander Nifong) wants to be a sweet distraction but doesn't end up adding up to much (Nifong makes every single sentence sound like a question, which becomes irritating very fast). But even if the acting were stellar, the script lacks any sort of believability in how teenagers (and mothers and daughters) actually speak. The only true authentic thing was the texting and constant filming of the ensemble of bitchy girls. Frustrating and amateurish, I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT is not how you want to spend your theatre evening.
MATEO'S GRADE: D
Written by: Penny Jackson Directed by: Joan Kane Starring: Olivia Scott, Lue McWilliams, Alex Esola, Jesse Shane Bronstein, Charlotte Froyland, Alexander Nifong. For Tickets: https://www.telecharge.com/Off-Broadway/I-Know-What-Boys-Want/Schedules-Prices
Photo Credit: Al Foote III
MATEO MORENO recently won a bet on who could hold their breath the longest underwater. He won the bet, having beat local loudmouth Jimmy "Thunderbird" Thomas with a record breaking "fourteen minutes." True, part of that time was him unconscious and the other part was him being revived, but he still counts it, and is now $20 richer. Take THAT Thunderbird! He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.