His Way . . .
Spotlight On Productions Winter Fest 2002, 3/16
Milton (played gracefully and with welcome simplicity by Bill Dobbins) is one of those well-intentioned types who cannot shake his past and so is doomed to continually rehash it - at the expense of anyone willing to sit and listen. Such personal journey type plays are not expected to be plays of ideas. Still, twenty-two years of rehashing is a bit much to subject an audience to - an audience which presumably has made similar journeys of its own. Give us something, a new way to look at an old problem at the very least.
In a candid breakthrough Milton admits his innermost fear to his lover (dying of Aids) - that he is afraid not so much of getting the disease as simply of losing him. This reminds us that there are many Miltons in the world - basically nice guys who define themselves primarily in terms of those around them for lack of an inner, more important life. It was a touching scene in which simple honesty payed off for actors and author alike.
Hans Von Rittern was utterly convincing as Goldie. And Brian Miller made intelligent use of body language to portray James, a James-Deanish young hustler deshabille by the end of a long gay-pride fest, but he was inaudible most of the time - even in one of the smallest theaters in Raw Space. The evening itself was truly anchored by the palpable depth of George, Milton's older ‘anchor' character; - a rock-solid portrayal by Gary Dooley.