cover art by Danielle Poncheri
"If life were fair, we would send everyone off to Second Stage's latest
attraction without revealing much more than our wild enthusiasm for a one-man
play with the deceptively straightforward title CHESAPEAKE.
If theater and
journalism, just for today, could conspire to keep audiences as uninformed as
possible about Lee Blessing's brilliantly off-kilter fantasy...people might get
a chance to duplicate our pleasure at discovering the hairpin philosophical
joyride with so few expectations.
Basically, we'd like to be able to say three
words and leave it at that. Arts. Politics. Dogs. Anyone who finds each word
intriguing on its own and the three irresistible together should be transported
by the shaggy Blessing story....
...here [Blessing] is fearlessly out there,
with hints of Kafka and comic books, the Old Testament and Lassie, not to
mention the afterlife and the obvious timely connection to our mayor's new arts
platform.
The text is rich with inspiration and mockery on both sides of the
culture wars. Kerr begins with some touching and hilarious insights about his
father, who instilled a love of art in his son through outrageously original
means. There are also ruminations on the mixed benefits of extended childhoods
and an eloquent, breakaway senatorial speech in defense of art that we'd like to
have sent to all taxpayers.
All this happens with a casual sense of play and a
serious grasp of impotent rage....
...Trust [Blessing] to make the destination
as profound as the journey is entertaining."
Linda Winder, Newsday
originally produced by New York Stage & Film Company
1 M
I S B N: 0-88145-179-7, $8.95