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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE May 3, 1996

EVENINGS OUT

A fun and real look at why men do what they do in bed

2 Boys in a Bed

on a Cold Winter's Night by James Edwin Parker Reality Theatre

Reviewed by Nels P. Highberg

In the past few months, there have been a number of publications that focus on the real-life issues that shape gay men's sexual experiences.

In books such as Eric Rofes' Reviving the Tribe and Walt Odets' Surviving the Epidemic, gay men have started a necessary down-to-earth dialogue about why we do what we do when we're in bed, a dialogue that tries to get through stereotypes to reliable accounts of gay men's lives in all their variety.

One such dialogue can currently be seen on Sunday nights at 7 pm from now until June 2 in 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night, a staging at Columbus' Reality Theatre presented by Act Out Productions. This performance is directed by Larry Fink with Elaine Miracle as the stage manager.

The play stars Frank A. Barnhart as Daryl and Joey Landwehr as Peter, and both actors carry their parts well. Peter and Daryl live in New York and have just spent the previous evening cruising each other in a nearby bar before venturing to Daryl's apartment. As the audience takes their seats, Peter is stretched across the bed, sleeping. It is 4:30 am as the play begins.

The overall plot of 2 Boys in a Bed sounds a lot like the 1992 film by P.J. Castellaneta, Together Alone. However, while that film focused on two men who fell into caricatures of gay male personalities, this script by James Edwin Parker portrays two characters that are more complex and certainly more inter-

esting than those in Castellaneta's film.

As the play unfolds, Daryl and Peter divulge quite a few moments from their past. Some of these moments are shared by them both even though they had never met before this night, from nights at the Ramrod to weekly viewings of Dynasty at a local hangout. Their conversation grows more intimate until the audience understands the pain they both feel.

Towards the end of the play, both Daryl and Peter say, "We all do the best we can." The audience knows the men well enough at this point to infer each man's reason for saying this to the other.

But there is also a certain level of fun in this performance. As Peter runs through Daryl's record and magazine collection, and as each man walks around the stage in Calvin Klein underwear, many in the audience see parts of themselves. After all, how many gay men do not own a CD by Madonna, Bette Midler, or Barbara Streisand?

Outside the theatre after the performance, I could hear a group of gay men arguing over the reality of certain pieces of dialogue or actions on stage. When I heard one man say, "Oh, no one would say it like that,” another answered back, “Well, it was real to me."

Though we only hear about the experiences of two particular men from this performance and we know how many other stories are left to tell, there is a level of reality in this play that many in the audience can relate to.

This "level of reality" proved to be too much for The Catholic Times, which ran an editorial in their April 12 issue after receiving press materials about the play. The press release shows a photo of the two characters in bed, but with a blanket securely covering them from the waist down.

Saying that they were "saddened" to receive this material and "we wonder how

Two boys, Joey Landwehr and Frank Barnhart, on the bed.

advocacy of moral evil can indeed be art," the editorial went on to say, "However cleverly scripted, well acted or skillfully produced the play may be, its advertising is obscene and makes it clear that the play is a vehicle of advocacy of the point of view that genital homosexual activity is at least morally neutral. This is not art."

The editorial went on to chastise three of the production's sponsors-the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the Ohio Arts Council and the Columbus Foundation-for their advocacy and financial support of the play. “[These organizations] are lending their support to something that is evil," the Catholic Times said.

LEEANN MCGUIRE

Barnhart, who is the executive director of Act Out Productions, commented that the editorial makes some very dangerous commentary about what is art, what should be supported by the community and what our moral values should be when it comes to government support of the arts.

"If we start making decisions about art based on moral values, or if we stop supporting art that deals with controversial issues, then eventually we will have no art." Barnhart said.

Future performances of the show are May 5, 12, 19, 26 and June 2. Tickets are $12. All performances are at the Reality Theatre, 736 N. Pearl in Columbus. For information and reservations, call 614-294-7541.

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