CPT

September 15, 2000 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 13

eveningsout

Actors breathe stunning life into records of Wilde trials

Gross Indecency

The Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moises Kaufman Cleveland Public Theatre

Reviewed by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland Public Theatre's production of Moises Kaufman's Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde promises to be a marvelous theatrical experience.

For those unfamiliar with Kaufman, his recent off-Broadway hit The Laramie Project, telling the story of Matthew Shepard, was just pulled from production, not because of failing ticket sales or diffi-

culties with the show, but because all of the original cast are filming an HBO cable movie version of it.

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So, you know that this play was written by someone with serious credentials. And it shows.

The piece was compiled from court transcripts, personal letters, and biographies and autobiographies of people involved in the 1895 court cases that eventually sent the British playwright to prison, the event that broke him and cut short his life.

Scott Plate, one of the busiest men in Cleveland's theater scene, plays Wilde, a performance informed by the wry smugness found in Wilde's works.

"I've played the role before, though not

in this play, drawing from a sense of who he is based on how he writes," Plate said. "His nature popped out through what he wrote." Wilde's nature, and the natures of those around him, are what drive this play. Plate is magnificent in the role, the cultured tones of his assumed British accent cascading from the walls and rafters of Cleveland Public's performance space.

To sweeten the pot, Plate is not the only performer in the play worthy of a film career. Dan Kilbane, the second-busiest man in Cleveland theater, plays Lord Alfred Douglas, known affectionately as "Bosie," Wilde's paramour and, indirectly, the cause of his fall.

Kilbane's performance is filled with a petulance, a marvelous self-possession that rings true. Bosie Douglas is an historical figure, "the love that dare not speak its name," but he was also born into wealth and leisure. Kilbane captures the brattiness which that rearing engendered, as well as Douglas' fascination with Wilde and his flattery at being singled out by such a singular

man.

Perhaps the most fascinating performance, however, is from the villain of the piece, Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensberry. It was his vehement opposition to his son's friendship with the "posing Somdomite" that led to Wilde's failed libel suit, and the resulting criminal trials for "gross indecency between males." Gary Jones exemplifies the vitriol and contempt that Queensberry held for Wilde and, to an extent, his

own son.

Jones' performance is worthy of some of the biggest names in British theater and cinema, practically an American Alan Rickman or Ian McKellen. It's almost impossible to separate the actor from the role in his case; you might find yourself truly hating him, which is a fitting tribute to the magnificence of his performance.

It's an emotional, moving piece. It will most likely hit home very hard for those whose own fathers were stentorian in their opposition to their children's lives. The fact that almost all of the dialogue was actually spoken in the original historical context adds an almost surreal reality to the piece, which is only accentuated further by the almost German Impressionist motif of the set design.

The audience sits in front of the stage,

with a single row of audience members to the left and right of the stage; three-quarters of theater in the round. The audience, however, is not allowed to sit passively. They are the jury; when the barristers speak to the jury, they speak to you. The audience, however, has no power to render a verdict in the case. The trials, after all, occurred

ANTHONY GLASSMAN

over a hundred years ago, and what's done is done.

Cleveland Public Theatre and the actors merit an abundance of kudos for their work in bringing this piece to the Cleveland stage. It's a great play, and the performances let Kaufman's meticulous work of compilation shine through.

Serving Northeast Ohio

Karen R. Schneiderman

Akron: 330-376-8336

ATTORNEY AT LAW

Cleveland: 216-382-2716

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