‘Back of the Throat’ at Oakland gets ‘A’ for effort

By Milan Paurich

news @vindy.com

Youngstown

As a senior project for graduating YSU theater major Nathan Beagle, the Oakland Center for the Arts production of Yussef El Guindi’s “Back of the Throat” that opened Friday night deserves an “A” for effort. The student cast is uniformly strong, James Sullivan’s set is convincingly lived-in, and Beagle does a nice job of blocking the heated action. I just wish that the play itself were stronger.

An unsubtle, occasionally strident piece of political propaganda about a suspected Arab-American terrorist (Anthony Genovese’s Khaled) being grilled by two government officials (Cheney Morgan and Sheridan Sullivan) in the aftermath of 9/11, “Throat” feels strangely unfinished. It’s more of an idea for a play than a polished (or even coherent) dramatic work. El Guindi has written a tantalizing — and certainly topical — premise, but there’s more buildup than actual delivery in the finished product.

None of which detracts from the pleasure of watching some fine young actors flex their collective muscles in the service of some regrettably sketchy roles. I was particularly impressed with Morgan, who plays the more unctuous of the two federal agents. (When accused of racial profiling by his browbeaten suspect, Morgan’s Bartlett icily snaps, “It’s not profiling, it’s deduction.”) Morgan really nails the gruff relentlessness of his character and delivers a superbly modulated, intensely focused performance. It’s not his fault that Bartlett remains a compendium of antediluvian G-men clich s.

Equally outstanding is Courtney Auman who does triple duty — as a repressed librarian, the suspected terrorist’s bitter ex and a lap-dance-crazed stripper respectively — and makes each of her roles both physically distinct and emotionally credible. (I don’t think many strippers use 60-year-old Hank Williams songs in their act, however.)

Genovese eloquently captures Khaled’s escalating anxiety, paranoia and fear. The only thing missing from his sensitive portrayal is any sense of moral ambiguity. If it was El Guindi’s intention to make Khaled a tabula rasa with his guilt or innocence open for debate, that tantalizing sense of mystery never quite registers. Genovese’s Khaled comes across as a blameless victim/martyr from beginning to end which isn’t nearly as interesting, I’m afraid.

Joe Pascarella delivers a quietly compelling performance as the young Arab man whose exact relationship with Khaled is never fully spelled out. And Sullivan finds a few choice nuggets of humor as Bartlett’s flakier-than-Pillsbury partner.

Despite some opening night lighting glitches, Beagle and crew are to be commended for shining a much-deserved spotlight on the fine work being done by YSU’s theater department. Hopefully they’ll pick a more fully realized play to showcase all of that prodigious, precocious young talent next time.

“Back of the Throat” runs through June 19 at the Oakland Center for the Arts. For tickets, call 330-746-0404.