New entrepreneur John Pace Seavering has one opportunity to publish but two manuscripts to choose from -- one submitted by his lover, Jessie, and one by his pal, McCleary. As if that weren't enough for playwright Richard Greenberg to tackle in a single work, John's clerk takes delivery of a machine that coughs up pages of text that seem to predict the distant future. Greenberg's script, styled somewhere between serious conflict and wacky sci-fi, needs the assistance of a firm director and flawless cast.
Despite a well-earned reputation for thoughtful, detailed work, director Stuart Rogers either miscast this piece or allotted his actors too much leeway. When one actor so exaggeratedly overplays and one so enervatingly underplays, it's very hard to get an inkling of what the director intended as tone and viewpoint, no matter the script's problems.
As the swishy clerk, Kyle Colerider-Krugh goes far over the top; combine this with his occasionally sloppy diction and we quickly lose interest in his character. As John, Thomas Burr plays far too blandly, and when he gets whispery, we again step out of the story. Jeff Kerr McGivney does solid work as McCleary until he first describes his girlfriend, at which point the actor seems to back out of the character, and we suddenly doubt even her existence. Elizabeth O'Brick as said girlfriend is allowed to rely on her dewy beauty to create a character; she, too, plays too blandly. At least Angelle Brooks as Jessie offers a tidy portrait of a black songstress in 1919 America, a woman desperate for many things but necessarily showing great restraint.
The play's title refers to the time of day mentioned in McCleary's manuscript, describing the New York hour "when the evening is about to reward you for the day." The title is probably also about a violet era -- the late 1910s and the birth of modern technology -- as well as a time of decision-making. If only the fog had not rolled in over this production.
Presented by and at Theatre Tribe,
5267 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood.
Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m. Mar. 14-May 3.
(800) 838-3006. www.theatretribe.com.