Let’s talk about joy…no, wait fear. The unexpected? Trust? Intimacy? Instead, let’s talk about the world premiere of Lee Osorio’s A Third Way at Actor’s Express because it offers all of this and more.
Every production is a collaboration-that is just the nature of the beast. It is clear that the many forces that collaborated in this one united to fulfill their various and converging missions to create a whole that is not larger than it’s parts, but tightly balanced, intimate, intricate and cohesive. If any one of the contributors, theater, supporters, director, actor, tech crew did not fully commit, the result would not be as full an experience as it is.
Actor’s Express describes itself as Atlanta’s destination for fearless theater and producing a new and unknown play is always that. Every time a play is produced, it is an investment of time, energy, emotion and money. The risk with something new is always higher. Will the audience come, will they like it, feel strongly enough to start some word of mouth, will it be a success?
The Del Shores Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit with a mission to find and facilitate the development of unknown southern queer artistic voices. That this play is a queer voice is important, but in a way, almost incidental because in the end it is about relationships and choices that anyone can relate to.
Osorio is familiar to Atlanta audiences as an actor and a writer, but CultureOwl is relatively new to this city so to this reviewer he was a revelation. It is clear that his experience as an actor and director has allowed him to carefully craft dialog that it tight and sharp, yet feels natural enough for us to believe every word. It is clear that the director, Lauren Morris, has his trust and respects the work from the get-go.
A Third Way is staged in the round, which immediately sets the audience up for multiple points of view as well as intimacy. Nothing is hidden, including the set changes, which are minimal and look like straightening up the room. Cleaning up the mess, if only for a moment.
The blurb of the play is as follows:
Nico and Matt’s marriage is on shaky ground. When they decide to open their relationship, they test the boundaries of love, sex, intimacy and fidelity. Will they discover a new way to strengthen their bond…or will three become too much of a crowd?
To tell you much more would be to reveal the plot, and of course how it resolves is the whole point of seeing this production. The expectation is a tense drama, and that it is. That we will care about the characters and become invested in their feelings and reactions and that we do too. At one point, the entire audience gasped as a betrayal is subtly revealed. What is not expected is that we will laugh out loud along the way. There is pain, yes, but there is also joy.
This all translates into that whole I have been talking about through thoughtful staging and outstanding performances. Braian Rivera Jimenez is relaxed and immediately likable in the part of Nico. Sweet, caring, looking to solve problems not only for his husband but for his smart and caustically funny best friend Erica, well played by Cecelia Leal. Her comic and dramatic timing are equally wonderful and balanced raising her above the wisecracking into a fully fleshed person. Brandon Lee Browning as Matt has a most challenging task; to make us care about the person who seems to have it all together - career success, marriage, good looks. He not only knows it, but makes sure everyone around him does too. He does this through a nuanced performance showing us his character’s vulnerability and ultimate growth. Last mentioned, but hardly least is Ian Sawan as Haamid, the free spirited one-night stand who appears to have the most unstable professional and personal life, but turns out to be the most fully realized of all, certain in his path and his desires.
A Third Way is a must see. It is a tour du force production full of drama, bravery, laughter and unexpected twists performed by a cast that pulls you into their world until you are full invested in the outcome.
Let me start the word of mouth that gets every new production going. GO SEE IT!
A Third Way at Actors Express runs From October 3 through 27th. See the details HERE.
