The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
Tickets from $85 Buy Tickets
Cititour.com Review
Among the most amazing feats the very gifted solo artist James Lescene performs in “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey,” now at the Westside Theatre Downstairs, is turning the title character into flesh and blood, though we never hear a word from his lips. Lescene creates this indelible portrait of this flamboyant, seemingly overconfident 14-year-old gay boy in New Jersey (who we sadly come to learn has been murdered) simply from one projected photograph and the descriptions of this unusual individual from the show’s myriad other characters – all played by Lescene, without a single costume change.
The one person who doesn’t know Leonard is the detective in the charge of the case, the straight-talking (and very straight) Chuck DeSantis, a middle-aged beat cop who narrates the tale of solving Leonard’s murder. In his investigation, he comes into contact to a wide variety of sharply-drawn characters (in both senses of his word) starting with Leonard’s blowsy if good-hearted caretaker, a sassy beautician named Ellen Hertle, to Ellen’s smart if unhappy adolescent daughter Phoebe, fey British drama teacher Buddy Howard, former mob wife Gloria Solzano, kindly Marian Tochterman (who sneaks a smoke in the morgue and talks about her hair color), local clock shop owner Otto and his dog Shatzi, and neighborhood kid Travis Lembeck.
Lescene’s skill in delineating each of these people is quite remarkable, giving them their own voices and hand gestures. Occasionally, their monologues seem a bit too well-crafted, as if they were indeed speaking of a pre-written script, but Lescene’s gift for language is quite beautiful, often finding just the right phrase to bring each of these people to complete life.
Tony Speciale’s low-key direction works quite well in this space, and Jo Winarski’s well-chosen props, Aaron Rhyne’s first-rate projection, and Duncan Sheik’s incidental music all add their own contributions. The show’s only drawback is that is does have the slight feeling of one of those old ABC’s Afternoon Specials. Of course, I fully support the message that Lescene is sharing – that we must appreciate the differences we discover in each other (especially gay youth) and that violence is always an unacceptable solution – but at times, the work comes off as a tad preachy, dimming its undeniable brightness.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://absolutebrightnessplay.com
Cast
James Lecesne
Open/Close Dates
Opening 7/11/2015
Closing 10/18/2015
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Westside Theatre
407 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
Comments
Sign up for our newsletter !