by Charlsie-Kern Kruger
“Fallin,” is the second entry in what playwright John Fischer calls the “Special Forces Series.” The first was the very entertaining “Billy.” This reviewer gave that production only three and a half stars, calling it hilariously funny but rather confusing.
I am happy to report that “Fallin” deserves a full five star rating, leaving “Billy” (which was great fun) in the dust.
From the first to the last moment of its tight eighty-five minutes of thrills, the laughter, suspense, and even pathos are continuous. The satire is pointed. The physical comedy is executed with astonishing facility.
The Colonel and Day are CIA assassins who have more or less sworn off assassinating but the world isn’t paying attention, and they are pulled into action when Day is attacked by a mugger who turns out to be a secret agent who steals a vitally important cell phone. The phone must be retrieved to avoid a nuclear holocaust. That about covers the plot, which is perfectly clear and sturdy, but entirely secondary to the delightfully realized characterizations and amazing action sequences. The action sequences are created on a bare stage, entirely by the actors themselves, with the assistance of Raphael Buenaventura’s polished virtuoso sound design.
About the action sequences: these include a suspenceful high speed chase and hand to hand battle through the fly space above the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House, a sequence in which the intrepid spies ride in, above, and beneath a subway train, a plane crash followed by an underwater rescue, and more that I can’t even remember clearly. It’s all wonderful. The chase scene at the Met is so perfectly realized that in my imagination it seemed to match anything the great movie director and chase expert John Frankheimer ever achieved in cinema. It’s a stunning, laugh a minute, tour de force.
Along with the laughs is a believable love story between the aging, and “very gay” Colonel and the young transgender, female-presenting Day.
As the play opens, Day is engaged in a pitched hand-to-hand battle with an invisible opponent. And as she fights in the background, the Colonel turns to the audience and declares his love for Day. His monologue is a model of taut writing and paints a picture of contemporary queer experience that is spot on. Fisher has his finger firmly on the pulse of 2024:
“The way they moved, their manner, the way they bossed me around, the fact that they were a they. I was fascinated. Then obsessed. Then in love. At my age. A gay man. A very gay man. In love with them, a non-binary, a non-me, a nothing like me. . Life begins at sixty, right? Or it rebegins. Or something.”
And with those few words, Fisher captures, with insight and precision, what it is like to be a senior Gay man encountering the new Queer generation. At least, that’s what it did for me.
The script, a model of terse writing, is a mere 27 pages long and every word has the ring of natural conversation, notwithstanding the ridiculous content that spins comically out of control.
Claire Eliott plays the character of Senator Bevis, a bitch-on-wheels and also on the make for Day and Kamala Harris, too, for good measure.
Raphel Buenaventura returns from “Billy” as the stage manager who plays multiple characters, all humorously.
The end of “Fallin” surprises us with a moment that brings genuine tears, quite moving.
“Fallin” is likely to be as much fun as you’ll have in a theatre this year.
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Rating: ***** (For an explanation of TheatreStorm’s rating system, click here.)
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“Fallin’: Some Things Are Unforgettable” written and directed by John Fisher. Lighting Design: Colin Johnson. Sound Design: Raphael Buenaventura. Costume Design: John Fischer, Crystal Liu.
Cast:
Senator Bevis: Claire Elliott. The Colonel: John Fisher. Day: Raye Goh. Raphael Buenaentura: Maxi/Hysterical parent/Cloak/Brian.
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