by Jon Robin Baitz
at La Mama until
February 13, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Remember the uproar in the western world when Nestles sold
baby formula to the third world? Women in Africa had no clean water, could not
read the directions, did not understand how to prepare it, diluted it to make
it last longer. Children died.
Three Hotels, by US playwright Jon Robin Baitz, is a play
with this issue at its core. Kenneth Hoyle (Jeff Keogh OK) is marketing manager
for an American company selling formula to developing nations. The problem is
that US companies have not helped them develop very far.
Ken became hardened and unscrupulous after a tragic incident
in his family. His wife, Barbara, (Susan Gorence) is shattered by the
deterioration in her husband's ethics. The couple used to be in the idealistic
Peace Corps that offered truly unprejudiced and non-profit aid to countries in
need.
Ken and Barb - the resemblance to that similarly named
plastic couple must be intentional - are seen in three hotels in three cities:
Morocco, The Carribean and Mexico. At each point, the marriage has collapsed a
little further while Ken's career seems to be rising - or is it?
The corporate world cares nothing for loyalty. Sales
figures, corporate image and the matching designer wife mean everything. Redundancy
is a mere slip of the tongue away.
The play raises harsh issues about capitalism and America's
relentless abuse and exploitation of third world markets. "People are not
real "to these corporate raiders. Community does not exist. Christianity
is what we do on Sundays and donations are what we give to presidential
candidates.
This production, directed simply by Ezra Bix, maintains an
intimate style. Voices are low, actors talk to the audience. Keogh plays Ken as
"the gentleman farmer" who lulls clients and staff into a false
security. Gorence, as Barb, provides the heart and a sense of anguish.
Often, the
performances are so restrained that the voices are inaudible However, the main
drawback in this style is that the dynamic range of this dark and emotional
drama is lost. there is passion in both of these characters: love and anger
need to be given their heads at some time.
The results of the western world's greed is not merely
damage to the third world. Our ethics and our relationships suffer too.
by Kate Herbert
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