Contrary to Quasimondo Milwaukee Physical Theatre’s previous offerings, its latest venture, Avenue A, is emotive and toned down; unsheathing the stigmatization surrounding mental illness, incarceration, education and poverty. The production is not light entertainment by any means, being painfully honest and realistic is its approach. But it is the unwaveringly truthful acting performances and rare splotches of humor peppered throughout that stay with the audience even after leaving the theater.
Avenue A’s set is dissected into two distinct parts. Stage right resembles a ramshackle apartment, complete with grimy paint-chipped walls, a broken armchair and sagging floral sofa. The play, however, opens in the dark, empty space to stage left where a single light bulb sputters overhead. Joey, played by Kirk Thomsen who also serves as the show’s director, writhes back and forth on the ground. Perhaps a representation of Joey’s destructive thoughts, several interpretive numbers are shown here throughout the piece.
Joey, hollow cheeked and unkempt, is an ex-con who has recently been released from prison. As the story begins he is seen making the best of his newfound freedom, applying to become a professional typist and desperately trying to support his crippled younger brother Chickie (Ben Yela). The brothers live in a rundown apartment along with Joey’s live-in girlfriend Rosa, (Claudia Sol), a love-struck Mexican American girl from an abusive family. It is clear that Joey also lives with the demons inside his head. For much of the production Joey shows erratic, almost schizophrenic behavior, becoming hostile without notice and abusive towards his brother and hurling a constant stream of expletives at the mysterious closet in the corner of the room. Rosa simply calls them “quirks.”
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Trouble arrives in the form of Larry (Andrew Parchman), Joey’s wisecracking former cellmate and confidant. Parchman is a highlight of the production and brings much-needed comicality to the heavy material. Some of the more humorous scenarios involve Larry’s constant obsession with his fashionable new clothing. Larry believes he is the only one who can help Joey and takes brotherly interest in Chickie while constantly trying to alienate Rosa from her new family.
Thomsen’s stunning performance as Joey serves as the backbone for this production. He looks every bit the part of an unstable man and at times it is hard to watch as he teeters in and out of reality. Both Sol and Yela are strong ensemble members in their own right, with the latter being the voice of reason in a production, which challenges the isolation that comes with a mental disorder.
Through March 29 at Quasimondo Milwaukee Physical Theatre, Studio G, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, call 414-628-6438 or email info@thequasimondo.com.
