By Erin Philips
SAN DIEGO – In a shabby apartment in northern Idaho, a six-hundred-pound man is facing what he believes to be the last week of his life. Desperate to do one good thing before he dies, he reaches out to his estranged daughter and finds a hateful seventeen-year-old terror. Nursed by the woman who is both his enabler and only friend, and ministered to by a nineteen-year-old Mormon missionary, Charlie is a lost man surrounded by other lost souls, all searching for some form of redemption. This is the searing story of playwright Samuel D. Hunter’s The Whale.
A writing tutor with a Master’s in English, Charlie rarely leaves his couch – he conducts online classes there, he reads essays there, he eats there, he sleeps there. The action unfolds within the intimate confines of his living room, with projections above the set marking the passage of time as Charlie slowly marches toward doom – Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon, Thursday night.
An early scene of masturbation sets the tone for the rest of the play – The Whale is not for the faint of heart. With shocking exchanges and unflinchingly honest portrayals of people in pain, Hunter takes on addiction, LGBT issues, faith and religion, relationships and love. An exploration of books and meaning is woven throughout the narrative, from discussions of The Great Gatsby, Walt Whitman and Moby Dick to Hebrew Scriptures and the Book of Mormon.
As Charlie, Andrew Oswald is believably obese in a fat suit, weighed down by his choices and their effect on the people he cares about. Judy Bauerlein is fierce and funny as Liz, Charlie’s caretaker, bringing him meatball subs even as she implores him to go to the hospital. Craig Jorczak is convincing as the youthful and earnest Elder Thomas, determined to help just one person and complete his mission, despite his own doubts.
Erin McIntosh is remarkable as Charlie’s daughter Ellie – shrill, wide-eyed, and relentlessly cruel, “evil” as her mother calls her – eliciting sympathy even as she lashes out at everyone around her. And as Mary, Charlie’s alcoholic ex-wife, Melissa Fernandes is a revelation, her unexpected arrival in the third act adding yet another layer of grief and gritty realism.
Brutally funny, deeply sad, and universally moving, The Whale, directed by Shana Wride, runs through June 14 at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town.
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Philips is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. You may comment to her at erin.philips@sdjewishworld.com, or post your comment on this website provided that the rules below are observed.
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