Braden Jacobs-Jenkins won the 2014 Obie for Best New American Play for his plays “Appropriate” and “An Octoroon.” The latter received a Cleveland Critics Circle Award for its Dobama production several years ago.
His “Gloria” was a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist. It was originally titled, “Or Ambition,” as one of the major themes explored in that script is ambition and how it can affect the compromises people make.
The play takes place in modern-day magazine office in Manhattan. It’s a normal work day for a group of aspiring writers who are growing tired of the monotony of their jobs.
A member of the staff stumbles in hungover from a disastrous party that was held the night before at the home of the 'office freak', Gloria. He was one of the only people who attended the event.
As the day goes on, everyone goes about their business, though tensions are high with a dispute over who should be allowed to write a story on a recently deceased pop singer. Gloria begins to act stranger than usual.
Gloria suddenly shoots and kills some of the office workers.
The story then follows the fallout of the surviving characters’ lives as they try to cope with the stress of experiencing the events and feuding over who deserves a book deal based on relating the events of the shooting.
In this era of work, school and public mass shootings, unfortunately, the play’s basic topics are extremely relevant.
The Pulitzer committee called the script: "A play of wit and irony that deftly transports the audience from satire to thriller and back again."
A previous a staging of the show was praised as "providing illumination into the characters, and raising some intriguing questions, such as the ugliness of artistic ambition, the ways we individually and as a society process trauma, and the exploitation and corruption inherent in our commercial culture.”
I wish I could say that the Cleveland Public Theatre production brought out those intriguing qualities, but I can’t.
The show’s pace is slow, the needed attention to building tension are lacking, and, most importantly, some of the characters are weakly developed and performances are suspect.
Sally Groth, as Gloria, effectively built a character of intense depression with the right foreboding attitude. She displayed an on-the-edge intensity that when she snaps, it seems entirely appropriate.
One of things known about mass murders, and those who commit suicide, is that their basic need for survival has expired. This is based on the anthropological theory that we have four basic needs … pleasure, territoriality, security and survival. When a person no longer logically or emotionally finds life palatable, they give up, want to escape from the pain of living. Gloria, obviously has reached that point, and Groth has given us all the clues that the frustration of life has reached its zenith.
Sarah Maria Yannie, Michael Prosen, Isaiah Betts and Keith Kornajcik each do an adequate job of developing close to realistic characterizations. The final member of the cast acted, feigning rather than being, creating an unreal caricature.
The lack of production fidelity is surprising, as director Beth Wood has proven over-and-over her ability to mold and bring out the best in scripts. Why she stumbled on this attempt is a mystery.
Benjamin Gantose’s set design is both creative and functional. India Blatch-Geib’s costumes are both era and attitude correct.
Capsule judgement: “Gloria” is a relevant and topical script that with the right performances, attitude, and pacing could have been a fascinating evening of theater. As is, it’s a disappointment.
“Gloria” runs through April 13. For tickets to any CPT show call 216-631-2727 or go on line to http://www.cptonline.org/.
