subject: Acting Workshops Nyc Ny New York Acting Workshop- Theatre Group [print this page] The Bilbao Effect The Bilbao Effect
There is a long tradition in theater of skewering journalists, lawyers and politicians, but architects, by comparison, have gotten off easy. In this age of the architect, that is bound to change, as demonstrated by two new dramas that present and then undercut the persona of the uncompromising visionary who dreams up buildings.
The title of Oren Safdies Bilbao Effect, an inside-joke-filled comedy about a Viennese architect facing censure for a redevelopment project, refers to how the success of Frank Gehrys Guggenheim Museum branch in Spain began a new era of structures that drive tourism and create spectacle, often at the expense of the public. June Finfers Glass House is a less ambitious character study of Mies van der Rohe (Harris Yulin) told through an account of the creation of his famous Farnsworth House in remote Plano, Ill.
The plays examine how an architect strikes a balance between art and craft, and the playwrights struggle with the same tension. With a tediously slow and predictable pace, Ms. Finfer parallels Miess artistic drive with his messy personal life. He starts an affair with a client (Janet Zarish) referred to him by Philip Johnson, caricatured by David Bishins as a prickly and charming opportunist. The romantic plot that drives the scant story takes far too long to kick into gear, and the conflict between the functional demands of the client (she wants a window) and the formal vision of the architect (windows clutter up clean lines) provide what drama there is.
Mr. Yulin is a fine actor of subtle gifts, but his work here is understated to the point of being invisible. His Mies seems uninterested in fame, fortune or getting his ideas built. And even when his personal secret is revealed, he appears vulnerable for barely an instant. The director, Evan Bergman, doesnt tease out performances that put flesh on the bones of this drama.
Mr. Safdie deserves credit for trying something more ambitious, a farce of ideas in a style that only certain playwrights, like John Guare, can pull off. Echoing the recent brouhaha over Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, the plot imagines a controversy about a Staten Island development designed by a famous architect with little concern for the public.
That starchitect Erhardt Shlaminger (Joris Stuyck, performing with a mix of vanity, wit and entitlement), faces censure by his peers at the American Institute of Architects. Riffing on a problem that beset Mr. Gehrys design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Mr. Safdie has Shlamingers creation reflect sunlight into the windows of a nearby apartment building with such fierceness that the temperature inside soars. Paul Bolzano (Anthony Giaimo) lived in one of those apartments and claims the reflection sent his wife into a depression.
Bringing the architect before a hearing of his peers gives Mr. Safdie an excuse to unveil dueling arguments about the professions social and ethical responsibilities. Yet Mr. Safdie, who featured the same character in his 2003 comedy Private Jokes, Public Places, is better at mapping out a debate than at creating three-dimensional people or a surprising plot. Everyone comes off as ridiculous; the architect drops his pants, while his accuser confesses to a preposterous conspiracy.
Mr. Safdie is the son of the prominent architect Moshe Safdie, and he stacks the deck against his fathers profession here. The model of the flamboyant building design in The Bilbao Effect looks like a Lady Gaga headpiece, but the arguments unfold like an op-ed piece. Even when the mechanical plotting turns chaotic, its a very orderly mess.
The Bilbao Effect is at the Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, Greenwich Village, (212) 683-0023. The Glass House is at the Clurman Theater, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton; (212) 279-4200. Both run through Saturday.
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Oren Safdie's The Bilbao Effect, now playing at the Center for Architecture, begins as a thoughtful if satiric exploration of the impact that contemporary architects can have on the residents of the communities in which their buildings are erected. Initially, there are giggles, and even some hearty laughs, to be found in the play. Unfortunately, the work, broadly directed by Brendan Hughes, eventually devolves into sophomoric silliness.
The piece revolves around a hearing being held by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which will determine whether or not "starchitect" Erhardt Shlaminger (played with grinning arrogance by Joris Stuyck) will be able to retain his membership in the organization.
A series of complaints by Paul Bolzano (whom Anthony Giaimo imbues with a deft mixture of dimness, sleaziness and self-righteousness) about the Shlaminger buildings erected in his neighborhood on Staten Island have raised issues about the designer's sensitivity to the needs of the community. Bolzano's complaints extend beyond the appropriateness of the structures to the neighborhood. He contends that the buildings -- gleaming geodesic and prism-like structures that jut out of the landscape (brought to life hilariously in an uncredited scale model) --contributed to his wife's suicide.
The scenario raises provocative questions about the ways in which urban redevelopment is being imagined in the 21st Century -- and initially, Safdie serves up the debate with equal parts seriousness and comedy. For instance, neither the plaintiff's attorney nor the counsel for the defense are licensed to practice law; Allen (the thoroughly winning John Bolton), who represents Shlaminger, can only work in the Bahamas, while Mitsumi (Ann Hu), appearing for Bolzano, is still a law student. Presiding over the hearing is Bill Watertsand (played with preening smugness by Marc Carver), the head of the AIA, who announces that the organization has every right to overturn whatever decision might be reached by the jury, meaning the audience.
