NY Review: 'The Thrill of the Chase'Mad Dog Theatre Company at the Drilling Company TheatreReviewed by
Jonathan Mandell
February 19, 2012
From this premise playwright Philip Gawthorne attempts a brutal exploration of what used to be called the battle of the sexes. Kevin O'Callaghan plays Charlie as a creep and a sadist who turns on the charm just to get what he wants and doesn't know why he acts the way he does. To end the engagement, Charlie cooks a pig's head for Izzy (Nicole Samsel), who is a vegetarian, and enlists Faith (Jenna D'Angelo) to make the moves on Nicky (Ryan Barrentine.) Obviously inspired by David Mamet, the playwright uses his familiar coarse rat-a-tat dialogue and regular-guy inflections: "I'm not doubting you have feelings for her," Charlie tells Nicky. "I know you do. I have feelings for my goldfish, but I don't let them rule my life." Although the characters often behave in ways that are not especially credible, "The Thrill of the Chase" might have worked as a politically incorrect comedy or a theatrically riveting exercise in cruelty. But the production is undermined by a script overstuffed with pointless digressions (there is a long monologue about buying a bagel) and, despite the snappy dialogue, an often-deadly pace that makes its two and a half hours feel as endless as a bad marriage. Presented by Mad Dog Theatre Company, in association with the Drilling Company, at the Drilling Company Theatre, 236 W. 78th St., NYC. Feb. 19–March 4. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. (212) 868-4444 or www.smarttix.com. |
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