“Steve”

Mark Gerrard

Five long-term friends – two gay couples and their mutual lesbian BFF, Carrie – are meeting for drinks to celebrate Steven’s birthday.  Steven arrives in a grouchy mood, snapping with a snarl every time his partner of sixteen years opens his mouth and calling loudly for a drink from a waiter that does not come.  But when the Argentinian sometimes-dancer, now-waiter Esteban does arrive, something clicks between them (noticed by all) – all just before Steven then discovers that on his partner’s (Stephen) phone are dozens of sexy, seductive messages to and from Brian, the partner of Matt — both of whom are sitting right there nervously witnessing the volcanic eruptions that the Birthday Boy now emits.

And thus opens what is actually a comedy that is also packed with much mid-life drama in a somewhat amusing outing entitled Steve by Mark Gerrard, now playing at New Conservatory Theatre Center.  The four men act out their mid-life transition issues in varying degrees of desperation and exploration from the aforementioned sexting (Stephen and Brian) to inviting a hot-trainer to move in as a three-some (Brian and Matt) to having an occasional affair with a waiter who seems somehow to show up everywhere Steven finds himself.  And parallel to all these shenanigans where forty-something ‘men’ are trying to prove to themselves they are still sexually desirable to younger ‘boys’ actually sexually desirable, their best friend Carrie is dying before their eyes.

With that set-up and the further complications that the coupled pair both named a version of Steve also have a young, somewhat unruly son Zachary (whom we never meet), Mark Gerrard’s script certainly has many opportunities for including caddy, snippy, snarky lines that gay men and their lesbian friend can do so particularly well.  But the playwright goes further to juice up the script by including dozens of references in lines spoken, sung, and heard as background music to Broadway musicals, both recent and long ago.  For die-hard theatre-geeks, the play becomes a scavenger hunt with the goal to find and identify all the references.  For those of us who are mere mortals, the additions fly by so fast that many occur unnoticed, or at least leave us unsure why included.

The situations and script of the play are mildly entertaining in and of themselves, with occasional moments of true comedy and others of genuine heart.  But under the direction of Becca Wolff, some of the funniest scenes are those where her genius and that of projection designer Sarah Phykitt elevate the here-and-there laughs into outright hilarity. 

One such scene is brilliantly constructed and is in many ways the highlight of the evening.  Steven stands in the middle of his apartment devilishly sexting with Brian while also dutifully texting with Carrie (who is quite ill in the next room but also with his birthday-boy son, both waiting for promised ice cream) and frantically texting (with no replies) to hubby Stephen (who is actually ‘sex-ing’ with Esteban rather than getting the ice cream).  At the same time, Steven is conferencing on two lines to both his mother and mother-in-law, who then also talk to each other.  As we listen to and watch Steven’s mixed reactions of sexual intrigue, spousal irritation, concern for sick friend and disappointed son, and feigned interest in what his two mothers are saying to him and to each other, we also watch the ongoing texts on the panels of three IPhones projected around the apartment.  The sequence is nothing short of hysterical.

Greg Ayers is the Steven with a ‘v’ and probably the ‘Steve’ of the play’s title.  He is often a fountain of over-flowing emotions and outbursts as he experiences both his partner and his best female friend suddenly fading from his life.  At the same time, he himself is unapologetically on the make, falling prey to the tempting teases of a handsome Argentinian (Esteban, played with accented sweetness and sexiness by Vaho).  The huge swings in his reactions and moods are impressive, but frankly his inconsistencies of character also make it difficult to find much empathy for him.  However, in a dream sequence where he says his good-byes to Connie, the script, director, and actors (including Clove Galilee as Carrie) join forces to create a scene truly powerful.

Ms. Galilee herself is not only the evening’s only female on stage but also the best, most believable performance among this cast of six.  Her Carrie is a loyal-to-the-core friend who is not afraid to call b.s.  She matches tit-for-tat the wit of her gay friends with her own saucy, sassy comebacks; but with her, there is less intent on insulting or hurting with the pokes she might make.  Her approach to the cancer eating away at her health is noble and credible, enough so to break our hearts as well as those of her friends.  Among this group of otherwise questionable sorts, she is the one thing that leads all of them to rise above their own self-interests and sexual drives in order also to find something noble in themselves.

Rounding out the cast are Joey Alvarado as the other Stephen, whose motives for his continued sexting with Brian (even after being caught) are never made clear in the script; Daniel Redmond as a British-accented, easy-going Matt; and ShawnJ West as Brian, whose one-dimensional personality is stuck on sexual innuendos and flirtations. 

Randy Wong-Westbrooke has created an ingenuous, intriguing set design where two roving walls consist of cock-eyed, mixed-shaped compartments with the accruements of the mid-life folks we meet.  The cut-outs in the walls become a pallet for the excellent lighting inventions of Brittany Mellerson, who also creates a sound design that among other things, provides many of the snippets of the Great American musicals that serve as accompaniment to scenes and scene changes.  Jorge R. Hernández populates the set with props that help change seasons and scenes as well as fill the many-shaped compartments on the turning walls.  His costumes go a long way explaining the differences among the quirky characters we meet and to set apart Connie as one who is facing her cancer with dignity.

New Conservatory Theatre Center’s production of Steve is overall enjoyable and certainly well-produced.  In the end, Mark Gerrard’s concept, characters, and script are nothing to write home about or remember beyond a few days, but they do provide enough ammunition for Director Becca Wolff to find plenty of ways to entertain us for ninety minutes.

Rating: 3 E

Steve continues through March 31, 2019 in the Decker Theatre of the New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Avenue at Market Street, San Francisco.  Tickets are available online at http://www.nctcsf.org or by calling the box office at 415-861-8972.