No good Deed
I’ve followed Furious Theatre Company almost from the beginning, and I’m always intrigued by its irreverent, not to mention adventurous, choice of materials. In No good Deed by resident playwright, Matt Pelfrey, the founding team has topped any other original material that it has presented. The group asked itself the creative question: Is it possible to bring a comic book to life onstage? After all, if movies can do it….
The group needed the full period of its imposed hiatus after the closure of the Pasadena Playhouse, Furious’ previous home, to figure out the answer. The creative team headed by Dámaso Rodriguez has brought together a full array of media to accomplish the goal.
No good Deed has an interesting pedigree. Pelfrey detected somewhat of a sheepish attitude in the available American hero pool--- a sense that they were undeserving of all that attention. Capitalize their low self-esteem with a concomitant desire to turn the tables on the situation and you have the premise of No good Deed.
We’ve moved beyond the pre-war kind of justice that Superman personified. Pelfrey imagines three drug-taking, beer-swilling super-heroes that earn their return from the grave by methodically undoing whatever good deed earned each hero status. They’re simply “bad asses,” bent on we’re-not-sure-what kind of mayhem: they’ve become Hellbound Heroes, for sure.
Now for all the razzle dazzle that’s employed to bring this tale to life: Pelfrey’s take on reality (Act 1) calls for generous doses of television news (live video feeds); projections by Jason H. Thompson (featuring “Pow,” “Whiz,” “Bang” comic panels by Ben Matsuya); a slatternly, garbage strewed set complete with fireman’s pole (all meticulously designed by John Iocovelli); intricate lighting by Dan Weingarten; and rumbling sound with music by Doug Newell. All that technology thrown at an over-blown script tends to sink the proceedings in details.
Fortunately, though, all the elements (and the script) come together in the second act. The precisely choreographed fight sequences by Brian Danner (who also performs) provide a further saving grace. The diligence of the acting company, helmed by Rodriguez who seems to have time to concentrate on relationships in the second act, can be felt in Nick Cernoch’s no-holds-barred teen hero, for instance. And there are enthusiastic performances from Johanna McKay, Robert Pescovitz, and Katie Marie Davies, to single out only a few in the large cast.
But at last, it’s time to answer the difficult question originally posed. For once this is pretty much of a generational question: what seems like a teen-aged boy’s fantasy about macho power and revenge doesn’t look triumphant--- it looks pretty tawdry in the flesh.
No good Deed continues Thursdays through Sundays (with a few exceptions) through February 26, 2012 [Inside] the Ford Theatre, at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd., East, Hollywood 90068. Tickets @ $25.00; students and seniors: $12.00; Thursdays are pay-what-you-can. Tickets online at www.fordtheatres.org, or (323) 461-3673 for specific schedule.