Savage World
Loosely based on the controversial figure of middleweight boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter whose 1966 conviction of a triple murder spree in New Jersey was overturned twenty years after his sentencing, “Savage World” attempts to lay bare the truth and innocence of a seemingly guilty anti-hero through the dogged determination of a frustrated reporter at odds with a corrupt system and his broken family. Much like Mohammad Ali’s rope-a-dope technique against George Foreman, this play hangs on with too much exposition and superfluous characters through three interminable acts until the only one KO’d is the audience.
The sheer complexity of a suspicious cover up and an appeals process set against the backdrop of escalating racial tension in NYC is taxing enough, but Stephen Fife heaps a gratuitous love affair and three generations of strained father and son relationships to further bury the plot. Fife spent 21 hours interviewing Carter for the Village Voice in 1979, and instead of editing, he uses this play to editorialize. Writers, like bad liars, can be seduced by too much detail, especially when they’ve done their homework. This is what happens when good research goes bad. It runs amok and loses discretion. The idea of throwing in everything including the kitchen sink in order to be believed is a sure sign that the writer (and possibly the liar) doesn’t trust that their audience will get it. It is also a good indication that the writer is unsure of what story they are trying to tell and “Savage World” strains from trying to go in too many directions at once.
The cast has the hopeless job of creating substance from so much fluff and stuff. Miscast is Erik Passoja as idealistic reporter Solomon Eisner. Scooting from one scene to the next, Passoja simply does not rise to the occasion in any of his confrontational or emotional scenes, and is best delivering his monologues to the audience. Nate Geez as Solomon’s son Danny obviously doesn’t believe the relationship between them and seems to stop trying halfway through the show.
It’s hard to see a couple of good actors stuck riding along in a bad vehicle, notably Vincent Ward of “Everybody Hates Chris,” and TV and film veteran Ernest Harden Jr. Ward’s performance is the only thing that gives this play any smooth transitions as his character goes from the big house to big time in short order without skipping a beat. Ernest Harden Jr. is one of the few actors onstage that takes some ridiculous lines and sweetens them with a little punch-and-judy pizzazz.
Director L. Flint Esquerra wrangles through the flashbacks and the present day action to create some semblance of organized chaos using lighting effects and dedicated stage spaces for scenes. Overall, however, the setting is uninspired and cluttered.
Less is more, but “Savage World” is more or less overindulgent.
“Savage World”
MET Theatre
1089 N. Oxford Ave.
Hollywood, 90029
Runs through Sun, Nov 23rd