The Break of Noon
Let’s face it. Neil LaBute likes to take us to some dark places in the human psyche; that’s why so many people buy tickets. But a play about faith? What can he be thinking? In his new play, The Break of Noon, LaBute delves to the very heart of faith, where miracles occur, to discover what makes them happen.
The bare-bones production on the Geffen’s Gil Cates Theatre stage centers squarely on one John Smith (Kevin Anderson), the only person to survive a brutal massacre at his workplace. The first 12 minutes of the play consists of a graphic retelling of the horror brought on by a laid-off co-worker decimating an entire business before turning the gun on himself. That Smith uses Biblical terms, “I alone was spared,” seems only to reinforce his self-proclamation that a miracle has occurred. His previous life style, his dubious credentials as a man of religion, all reinforce the notion of an extraordinary conversion.
Smith’s constant repetition of his story, however, begins to drill deeper beneath the surface of the event. The people surrounding him have various investments in him. His attorney (John Earl Jelks) wants to make money; his wife and his lover (Catherine Dent) both want him to apologize; the talk-show host (the mercurial Tracee Chimo) wants him to confess and the detective (Jelks again) wants him to tell the truth.
But telling the truth seems to become ever more illusive as time wears on. With each encounter, Smith unveils a bit more of the puzzle until finally, the truth is all that’s left. And what of the miracle? LaBute solves this mystery in a “fourth-act” twist that cannot be revealed.
Kevin Anderson as Smith brings an element of uneasiness into his portrayal of a man trying to negotiate a whole new persona as a man of religion that pays off in the end. As his wife, and later girlfriend, Catherine Dent uses accents to affect. Tracy Chimo is fun both as talk show host Jenny and hooker with a past, Gigi, while John Earl Jelks is best as the doubting Thomas detective who breaks the case.
Despite the complexity of Smith’s psychology as revealed by LaBute’s dramaturgy, this feels like a very small play. The spare set designed by Neil Patel, the two-hander sequences directed by Jo Bonney, the illuminated frame that is part of David Weiner’s lighting, and especially, Darron L. West’s rather frightening sound transitions, prevent expansion. Our vision is penetrating, but limited. At the conclusion, we feel exhausted. At the same time, we feel exonerated from doubt.
The Break of Noon continues Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 P.M., Sunday at 7:00 P.M.; matinees on Saturday at 3:00 P.M. and Sunday at 2:00 P.M., through March 6, 2011 at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles 90024. Tickets range from $45.00 to $75.00. For reservations phone (310) 208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com.