[June 03, 2011] 'God of Carnage' rules the O'Reilly Tweet Jun 03, 2011 (Beaver County Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- When people want to make amends, they break bread. When people want to tear things down, they eat clafouti. Pittsburgh Public Theater wraps up its 2010-11 season this month with the raucous comedy "God of Carnage," written by Yasmina Reza and translated from French by Christopher Hampton. The original Broadway production won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play and starred James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden, who also won a Tony for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Veronica. Surrounded by the audience on three sides, Pittsburgh O'Reilly Theater's thrust stage is the perfect intimate setting for a sit-down of the kind in "God of Carnage," which is directed by Ted Pappas. In the one-act production, Michael and Veronica Novak (Ted Koch and Deirdre Madigan) play host and hostess to Alan and Annette Raleigh (David Whalen and Susan Angelo), for what is supposed to be a cordial discussion about a playground incident between their young sons. At first, the four parents respectfully exchange concerns about the conflict that left the Novaks' son with damage to two teeth. But as the friendly tone of the conversation erodes and accord turns to accusation, the charming Brooklyn living room is transformed into the scene of a tag-team match. Angelo delivers an explosive performance as the neatly-pressed Annette, whose proclaimed profession is "wealth management." Although Annette's body language signals slight discomfort in the beginning, she listens intently and nibbles at the strange pear and apple desert Veronica serves. But she quickly loses it -- the clafouti and her composure -- as the argument over an appropriate resolution spirals into a whirlwind of social and institutional issues. (Perhaps the rows of seats nearest the stage should have been marked "splash zone" in light of the horrific, yet hilarious, eruption.) Alan, a defense lawyer, shows little interest in the mediation, and he interrupts frequently by taking calls and screaming into his cell phone about an upcoming prescription drug case. Koch does a good job adapting the role of blue-collar father Michael for the western Pennsylvania audience. Michael plays polite host to his guests (at Veronica's request, we learn), but social etiquette soon goes down the drain. When it is revealed that Michael recently released his daughter's hamster to survive (or perish) in the wild, the Raleighs seize the opportunity to divert the attention away from their son's misbehavior and focus on the suspected pet homicide. Although she believes her son is the true victim, Veronica repeatedly finds herself backpedaling to avoid further conflict as she tries to convince the Raleighs that their son should apologize. "Does he understand that he's disfigured his playmate?" Veronica asks, without considering her choice of words. Despite the innocence and charm of the orange flower ballet flats and cheery print skirt that Madigan wears, it's hard not to miss Veronica's quick temper and passive-aggressiveness. The fauxhemian is eager to talk about the tragedies in Darfur, but she is not above taking shots at Annette behind her back. The other costumes (designed by Pappas) are also significant, distinguishing sides in the class warfare between the couples. Annette looks very "Jackie-O" in her black and white tweed, Alan clearly means business in his structured business suit, and Michael is fully prepared to install toilet fittings in his flannel shirt and slacks. But the lines blur as various alliances come together and fall apart, sometimes through gender, marriage or morality. The humanity of each character is called into question by the others, and they regress to unrecognizable versions of themselves. Annette and Veronica finally escape into the top shelf bottle of rum and Alan and Michael relinquish any responsibility in the worsening situation. Michael declares he is nothing more than a Neanderthal, descended from the likes of John Wayne and Spartacus, and Alan proudly proclaims that his son is nothing more than a "savage," and the universe is ruled by the god of carnage, anyway. After 90 minutes, it's both tragic and hilarious to see the four parents reduced to infantile whining and even the couples' built-in alliances have crumbled. Although Reza's ending leaves the audience full of questions, I don't think my tired cheeks could have made it through a second act. To see more of Beaver County Times, Pa., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesonline.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Beaver County Times, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]