This seems to be the season for neglected Tennessee Williams plays to pop up Off-Off-Broadway. We've had productions of Small Craft Warnings by White Horse Theater Company and Out Cry by the National Asian American Theatre Company, with Vieux Carre promised by the Pearl Theatre Company this spring. Now Target Margin Theater is mounting Ten Blocks on the Camino Real, a 1948 one-act version of Williams' full-length fantasy Camino Real, which flopped on Broadway in 1953.
The 75-minute play takes place in an imaginary South American town where drifters down to their last peso settle. Characters drawn from literature, such as Casanova, Marguerite Gautier (or Camille), and Don Quixote, are at the mercy of the manipulative hotelier Gutman and the street cleaners, stand-ins for the Grim Reaper, who are always lurking at the edges of the plaza. Into this mad dreamscape wanders Kilroy, an allegorical figure representing Yankee pluck, naiveté, and compassion — his heart is solid gold and the size of a baby's head. The easygoing Kilroy is taken advantage of by the greedy denizens of Camino Real, including the gypsy's daughter, whose virginity is restored with each new fiesta. His adventures can be seen as a metaphor for innocence and joy triumphing over cynicism.
David Herskovits, the company's artistic director, accentuates the bizarre aspects of the script by using exaggerated sounds and employing a cast of six to play all the roles, sometimes even sharing them — the gypsy is played by a male and a female actor. The gimmicks, unfortunately, sometimes overshadow Williams' lyrical poetry. The sound design by Herskovits and Jim "Sneaky" Breitmeier (credited as "Big Sound Guy") is occasionally so loud that lines cannot be heard even when the actors shout.
On the plus side, Herskovits has for the most part directed his actors to play their roles without heightening the symbolism. They concentrate on conveying the characters' objectives rather than calling attention to the author's points. Satya Bhabha endows Kilroy with a boyish charm as he fights against the forces of darkness and greed. McKenna Kerrigan simply and clearly delivers Camille's sad reminiscences of her romantic past and dreary present. Purva Bedi, Curt Hostetter, and Raphael Nash Thompson round out the cast. Dara Seitzman provides sensuous accompaniment on the guitar.
This is the New York premiere of Ten Blocks on the Camino Real, and when compared with the longer version, it provides an interesting look at the writer's process. Thanks to Target Margin for bringing it to light.
Presented by Target Margin Theater at the Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster St., NYC. Jan. 18-31. Wed.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 4 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. (Additional performance Mon., Jan. 26, 7 p.m.; the performance on Wed., Jan. 21, is at 7 p.m.) (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com, or www.targetmargin.org.