Photo Source: Louis Lopardi
Romeo Tyrone Pendleberry was born and raised in Cedar Chips, N.J., where he still lives. He has a good job, a nice home, and lots of gay friends, most of them partnered. He's a fabulous cook, an old-movie buff (his self-imposed titular nickname comes from a 1929 Norma Shearer flick), and throws great parties. But a relationship has eluded him. One day he strikes up a conversation with the boy next door, handsome Kevin Pecinka, the 20-something son of two undertakers. Kevin keeps the books for the family business and cruises the bars for a lot of sex but is otherwise awfully blank, with little experience of life and no friends. Ty (as he prefers to be called) cooks him dinner, educates him in the cinema, and introduces him to his social set, whose members pass Kevin about with happy sexual abandon. When the elder Pecinkas retire to Florida, Ty lets the unemployed lad move into his basement. Will friendship blossom into something more?
Igrejas breaks the fourth wall, having Ty speak directly to and even see the audience. But Ty is surprised when Kevin tells him that he can hear what he's saying (which is generally about Kevin, of course) to theatergoers. He can't see them though. These teasing devices keep us wondering: Is Kevin real? Or is Ty creating him out of his loneliness? It's an interesting question that Igrejas never definitively resolves (I lean toward the creation side) but probably should.
The terrific actor Bryan Webster—so good in "Passing Ceremonies" and "Whore Works" in previous Fruit fests—is a buoyant delight as Ty from the moment he enters, dancing on backward and shaking his booty at us. Webster astutely gives Ty a touch of formality and a courtly remove that suggest why he's never bonded long with any lover. Craig Fox is one as Kevin, who's also attractive in his eagerness to learn and the puppyish pleasure he displays in doing so. Fox's portrait is full of sly humor, and the men share abundant chemistry, making the most out of a hilarious and sexy sequence in which Ty tries to teach Kevin how to dance.
Karin de la Penha—an actor who did fine work in Igrejas' "Hassan & Sylvia" in the 2010 festival—directs with subtlety and speed. My biggest quibble is simply that I wanted to spend more time with these two men, if only to allow Igrejas to be clearer about what he's trying to say. As it stands, "Miss Mary Dugan" feels tantalizingly incomplete.
Self-presented as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival at the Wild Project, 195 E. Third St., NYC. July 19–28. Remaining performances: Sat., July 21, 6 p.m.; Wed., July 25, 8 p.m.; Sat., July 28, 4 p.m. (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com, or www.freshfruitfestival.com.
