Outside in
A Furious ‘Pain and the Itch’ premieres at Boston Court
By Jana J. Monji 07/23/2009
Even during these tough economic times, there are some bright spots signaling a hopeful future, one of them Pasadena’s edgy Furious Theater Co. teaming with the innovative Theatre@Boston Court for Saturday’s West Coast premiere of “The Pain and the Itch.” Boston Court and Furious members have talked for years about collaborating and, since Furious doesn’t produce over the summer, now seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Michael Michetti, who along with Jessica Kubzansky serves as an artistic director for Boston Court, said the tricky part of doing a co-production “is staying true to the visions and traditions of both theater companies. ‘The Pain and the Itch’ melded our sensibilities the best.”
The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago in 2005 and, according to Dámaso Rodriguez, a founding member of Furious and director of this production, “was much buzzed about and has been talked about every time it’s been done. … I immediately felt it was a great fit for Furious, but we didn’t have the resources in our current space” at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre, above the Pasadena Playhouse, just a few blocks from Boston Court. Bruce Norris’ play takes place at the home of Kelly and Clay, an upper middle-class white family, on both a Thanksgiving evening and the following January. A cab driver, Mr. Hadid, whom we assume is Muslim, listens to the story of what happened on this Thanksgiving evening, and throughout interrupts for some points to be clarified.
“I didn’t quite know where it was going when I was reading it,” said Rodriguez. “Hadid is a judge observing the story and you don't get to figure out how this all fits in until the very end.”
One advantage to working with Boston Court, Rodriguez said, was the high caliber of actors it attracts, such as Scott Lowell, who played Ted Schmidt on “Queer as Folk,” as Cash — Clay’s older brother and a successful doctor.
“This play will definitely challenge an audience. It’s one of those love it or hate it shows,” Lowell said. “There is a deeper meaning in it, about how we look to each other and lies we tell each other as a nation and as individuals and beyond. It will leave you with things to talk about for a long time to come.”
Michetti said he and Kubzansky liked “the themes of how liberal people of some kind of privilege balance a life in America in the present day of consumerism” and “how they balance privilege as well as a sense of purpose to society.” He added that a major theme in the play is about insiders and outsiders, including some exploration of racial tensions and opportunities, “the kind of opportunities given to people who are not the privileged upper class or white,” Michetti said.
“The Pain and the Itch” opens Saturday and continues until Aug. 23 (previews end Friday) at the Theatre@Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $32. For more info call (626) 683-6883 or visit furioustheatre.org or bostoncourt.org . Jana Monji also reviews plays for Examiner.com. She can be reached at Jana.Monji@gmail.com.
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