'Boys' Life' examines men, relationships

Published: Friday, October 30, 1998

Friday, October 30, 1998

THEATER: Lives of three characters cause laughter, personal evaluation

By Erin Beatty

Daily Bruin Contributor

The Zoo Theater feels something like a sardine can. Forty-one audience members press against one another with the communal goal of watching "Boys' Life." As viewers loose feeling in their legs, they find themselves taken with wonderful acting, brilliant humor and a wild script.

Don, Jack and Phil are the three classically typical guys, somewhat recently graduated from college. The play opens on the three friends drinking, smoking a little marijuana and wrestling each other to the ground.

The two-story set takes remarkable advantage of its tight space. The bottom is Don's apartment, elegantly decorated with beautiful poster women, a bikini-clad mannequin's body and pink satin sheets.

Don, played by Matt Chaffee, is the "potential character." From the beginning, he shows his immediate vulnerability, sort of the nerdy-guy-of-the-bunch quality that alerts the audience that he will go somewhere.

His story, one of the many sub-plots which come together to make an ingenious whole, is about Lisa. She is that one special girlfriend who makes the guy want to be a better man - though this idea has tired throughout the '90s, it is skillfully crafted here, never evoking an image of redundancy.

Phil, wonderfully acted by Samuel Bliss Cooper, comes across as a bit psycho at times. His part of the story develops a conscious-ridden character, ruled by his unruly sexual motivations. While he is far from the only character dragged around by his anatomy, Phil's androgynous essence adds a quirky feeling to this quality.

Still, Phil's awkward femininity makes him sensitive, and this appears to be his tragic flaw. Though he leads with his hormones, he regrets with his heart, which makes for a fascinating development.

Finally there is Jack. Played by Thomas Burr, a UCLA alumni and skillful character-actor, Jack fills the macho role. Constantly looking to be satisfied, Jack faces the issue of masculinity, blatantly unable to deal with his crumbling marriage, affection for his son or living continuously in the past.

Although the three individual characters draw the viewer in, it is their interactions with one another which pull the play together. As the play moves on, the audience must question where their loyalties lie and what has kept them together for so long.

The short scenes race along, and though the viewer may completely loose the concept of passing time, they are never bored, always caught in the moment of the scene.

The humor is wonderful and beautifully delivered. And as the audience laughs with the play, they stop to catch themselves, realizing that something much more dramatic is occurring: catching the fear that faces these individual men, and how lost they all truly seem to be.

When the play closes, the audience is left conflicted, questioning whether they would rather stand up and allow blood to flow through their legs or continue watching to the finish. Without being asked, the viewers are forced to examine their own life, question their own motivations, and really think about the play itself.

THEATER: "Boys' Life" runs through Nov. 15, at the Zoo Theater in Hollywood. Tickets are $10-15. For ticket information, call (323) 460-4233.

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