With a mesmerizing set design by Christopher Scott Murillo, The Very Best People opened up on Sunday at the Atwater Village Theatre.
More than anything else, John Lavelle‘s play is a comedy, a really good one. The exteriorized violence depicted in some of the scenes is hilarious rather than tragic. To match the violence, there is blood. Lots of blood. Dripping blood, broken noses, lodged bullets, and a squirt of ranch dressing are elements that exteriorize the extreme nature of the characters and the anger buildup taking over their lives.
Jak (Bryan Langlitz), owner of Angelina’s Irish Pub, is preparing a plan to take down the Deep State. Joining his insurrection is Joey (James Luster), a friend who is also influenced by the QAnon movement. They’re avid fans of Lara Amanda (Margaux Susi), a TV host that propagates a conservative agenda through her show. Joey has a huge crush on Lara Amanda. So intense is his infatuation that he tends to lock the pub’s doors and fantasize about her, charming the cobra while eating spicy chicken wings. Yes, a strange fetishism for a thirtysomething still living with his mom.
If that’s not bizarre enough, Joey also has a disturbing attraction for Chris’ wife. Chris, a childhood friend of both Jak and Joey, is a NYPD detective who got shot under mysterious circumstances and is now fighting for his life. Two other characters that add tension to the story are Jak’s stepsister Fanny (Andria Kozica) and her obedient boyfriend Brian (Adrián González), an ex-con who is friends with Jak, Joey, and Chris. Fanny is a nurse and is the anti-racist and anti-far right member who keeps everyone in check to guarantee the sanity in the group, although she’s unable to stop Brian from kidnapping Patrick (Seth Leighton Hale), an action instigated by Jak and Joey.
The play shows White men feeling under siege and on the verge of losing their minds due to an influx of radical information. Lavelle takes a clear stance against racism and ultraconservatism, making the premise a one-sided exploration of the current political and social environment. In that sense, The Very Best People is less neutral than plays like Human Error, which explores both sides of the spectrum without taking sides. Lavelle’s point is that men, in this case White men, exhibit an animalistic nature in their behaviour, which oftentimes leads to extreme violence and sexual predation (Joey actually howls like a wolf, or a coyote, depending on who you ask). But the play seems to ask us not to take matters so seriously, even violence can be funny, within a proscenium and using fake blood, of course.
The events that unraveled on January 6, 2021 continue to generate an intense debate on the social and political arenas. The Very Best People is one more piece of the vast legacy of opinions unleashed after the Capitol riot. The play is visceral and fascinatingly executed by this talented group of actors. Director Melissa Coleman-Reed achieves an impressive and highly kinetic production, using all of the elements at her disposal masterfully to serve the story. The fights, the shootings, and the tourniquette may be hard to watch, and you might think twice before using ranch dressing ever again, but the cast and production team make it a one-of-a-kind theatre experience not to be missed.
The Very Best People
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles CA
September 29 – October 27, 2024
Thursdays-Saturdays: 8pm (no Thursday, October 17 performance)
Sundays: 2:00pm
Tickets: iamatheatre.com
Written by John Lavelle. Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed. Quinn O’Connor, Associate Producer.
Cast: Adrián González, Andria Kozica, Bryan Langlitz, James Luster, Margaux Susi, and Seth Leighton Hale.
Creative team: Jordan Bass (Casting Director), Erin Bednarz (Sound Designer), Nicole Bernardini (Properties Designer), Benedict Conran (Lighting Designer), Roella Dellosa (Production Stage Manager), Zander Eckhouse (Video Designer), Samantha Jones (Costume Designer), Lauren Lovett (Dialect Coach), Christopher Scott Murillo (Set Designer), Zachary Phaneuf (Technical Director), and Celina Lee Surniak (Intimacy and Fight Director).
