Great acting goes nowhere in [sic]

by Dwight Hobbes

Wanna know where some of the best acting in Manhattan, that lauded bastion of quality theater, comes from? The next time you get there, drop by Off-Off Broadway, where more day-job-working actors than you can shake a stick at have migrated in order to break into the business. The most impressive of them generally do not boast Juilliard or some other prestigious NYC institute on their fledgling bios. In fact, the Big Apple-grown performers at such venues routinely offer half-assed approximations of acting, imaginably so impressed with their education and delusions of star-bound destiny they don’t bother actually doing the hard work it takes to convey a character—either that or they’re saving their chops for some bigtime debut. More often than not, it’s actors from out here somewhere—sometimes Milwaukee or Fargo, sometimes a basically unheard of burg situated in the proverbial middle of nowhere — who leave you thinking (whether the play worked or not), “That is one hell of an actor.”

Between Chicago (which spawned John Malkovich and Gary Sinese) and the Twin Cities (where the likes of Claudia Wilkens, Stephen D’Ambrose and Buffy Sedlacheck set a sterling benchmark), one dares suggest a great many hopefuls either remained in or gravitated to the wellspring. One such gifted actor is Texas-born Brian Goranson, who reinvents himself with each role and is the saving grace in Melissa James Gibson’s “[sic]” at Pillsbury House Theatre. PHT attendees have, over the years, seen Goranson (“Streamers,” “Angels In America”) provide living proof of what is to be a consummate performer. Here, he flawlessly inhabits the character of Theo, a temperamental nerd and composer of quite limited ability, who could stand to get a grip on himself instead of vainly grasping for validation in another’s arms. Even those who’ve seen the chameleon-like actor in previous turns may have trouble recognizing him and, after the first few scenes, go by size and weight to figure it out. Brian Goranson is just that good.

Tracey Maloney isn’t half-bad either. With sharp timing and fine energy, she convincingly portrays Babette, the indifferent object of Theo’s desperate affection, and a deadbeat, generally self-centered, wholly pretentious dingbat-at-large. Maloney’s sure hand draws broad strokes here, details nuance there, and, on the whole, renders an artful depiction. A Tim Allen-ish, intermittently effective Paul de Cordova plays Frank, an affable wiseass and aspiring auctioneer. Faye M. Price and Emil Herrera complete the cast, visible roughly from the kneecaps down as a nutty couple who could get into an argument about the time of day. That Price’s duties as PHT co-artistic director preclude her resuming prominence on the Twin Cities stage is a shame. Her range seems beyond measure. She was splendid in last season’s closer, “Boesman and Lena.” Herrara, customarily wooden in full view (save, for some reason, his work at Mixed Blood Theatre), works to serviceable effect in what is an all but offstage role.

Noel Raymond deftly guides the cast, mining each moment for maximum immediacy. Raymond directed a superb production of “Streamers” and “Angels In America” (both at PHT) and is a brilliant actor (“Burn This,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” both PHT). All of which leads one to wonder why she, as co-artistic director and senior company member, elected to take on this script about likeable losers in which nothing happens. Theo, Babette and Frank are urban, next-door neighbors drawn together, presumably, by their inability to prevail at life on life’s terms. It’s a respectably poetic play that miserably fails in its execution. Theo and Babette’s interactions, which open the show, establish both his vulnerability and her opportunistic bent. Meeting Frank, one presumes the catalyst that spurs a forward thrust has materialized. No such luck. Instead, one passage of lively dialogue after another fails to benefit from anything close to a viable plot. It’s a potentially fascinating dance in circumstance that ultimately never gets a foot off the ground. Nobody wins, loses or, for that matter, takes a risk at transcending his or her situation. By the time all is said and nothing’s done, it’s hard to care what, if anything, ever happens with Gibson’s characters.

Still, in Brian Goranson and Terry Maloney you get to experience and appreciate top-notch acting on one of the nation’s homegrounds for superior fare—as well as Noel Raymond’s skilled directing.

Melissa James Gibsons’s “[sic]” runs Wed. - Sat., 7:30 p.m. at Pillsbury House Theatre, 3501 Chicago Ave. S., Mpls. thru March 29. Tickets: $15. Box office: 612-825 - 0459.