Bay Area Reporter - October 4, 2007
Richard Dodds

Having recently read Conigrave's book, I felt connected to the characters and their situations in ways that I suspect may elude others without this indoctrination. Indeed, the proceedings may come across something like a gay primer in the boy-meets-boy story that has long been theatrically surpassed. Yet the seeming innocuousness of Conigrave's coming-out story (his parents are upset, but not too) and his successful courting of a high-school classmate (their friends are surprised, but not too), in addition to humor based in youthfully clumsy sexual experiences, sharpens the contrast when AIDS enters their lives in the early days of the epidemic.

When he tested positive for HIV, Conigrave was at work with a small Sydney theater company on a play about AIDS that opened in the same facility where Holding the Man had its premiere two decades later. In his adaptation, Murphy smartly uses a theatrical conceit to tell the sprawling story. The spare setting suggests a bare rehearsal stage, and other than Ben Randle as the precocious Tim and Bradly Mena as the quieter John, several dozen other characters are played by just four actors, often crossing genders, who shift personas and costumes in open view. When Tim is accepted in a theater program, acting exercises merge with the plot. Gaunt puppets, expertly crafted by Scott Ludwig, become stand-ins in the death-bed scenes.

Even as director Matthew Graham Smith maintains a steady pace for the flow of the countless scenes, there are times, especially in the second act, when interest wanes. There are also moments of confusion, partly because of the Aussie jargon and accents, and partly because of the shorthand theatrical style. And while the play's theatrical metaphor makes sense, the use of four capable but not particularly versatile actors (two men, Wesley Cayabyab and Dennis Parks, and two women, Nicole Lungerhausen and Danielle Perata) to play multiple characters, regardless of age and gender appropriateness, can be momentarily confusing as well, but more seriously, can undercut the dramatic effectiveness of important scenes.

It's hard to gauge how much the success in Australia of Holding the Man, both the book and its theatrical incarnation, is a homegrown phenomenon. In his adaptation, Murphy may have felt obligated to capture as much of the book as possible, both to honor the source and to fulfill expectations of his countrymen who have embraced the book. But, looking at the play simply as a theatrical experience for American audiences, a considerable amount of tightening might be in order. It's a heartfelt story that lingers after its theatrical energy has been spent.

Holding the Man will run at New Conservatory Theatre Center through Nov. 4. Tickets are $22-$34. Call 861-8972 or go to nctcsf.org.

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