EDMOND
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Edmond’s first stop, of course, is a bar. Here, a man who raves on about how “niggers have it easy” (whatever that means) advises Edmond to get laid. And off Edmond goes, first to one of those Times Square masturbatoriums that house naked women in Plexiglas cages, then to a more upscale “health club,” and finally to a street pimp. Every step of the way Edmond is thwarted and ripped off. And the soup of Edmond’s desire is distilled from sex, into anger, into hate. Somewhere along the line he acquires a big knife at a pawnshop. He eventually connects with a waitress and goes home with her. She’s an acting student, and Edmond can’t abide her claim to be an actress. He urges her: “Say it with me. I am a waitress.” She doesn’t, and he kills her.
Punishment follows the crime. Edmond is arrested, imprisoned, divorced by his wife, and raped by his cellmate. During one scene–a visit from the prison chaplain–it looks like Edmond’s headed for a nervous breakdown. He still doesn’t know why he killed the waitress. The truth is elusive, but he knows the shape of the lie, and he flings the chaplain’s “bullshit” back in his face. In the final scene, the best one of the play, Edmond and his cellmate philosophize. Someone somewhere, maybe a space alien or a kid just being born, must know “what’s going on.” And then the two kiss good night.
There’s a fun mixture of performances, ranging from good to indifferent, offered by the supporting cast, many of whom play multiple roles. Terry Muller plays the saloon racist as a man who’s at least as loud as his necktie. Shaila Zellman is so versatile that I didn’t realize until afterward that she plays three parts, the best of which is her hypnotic fortune-teller. Jennifer Halliday surprised me as extremely invulnerable and composed considering that she appears nude in a Plexiglas booth. Best of all is Gabriel Pillars (as Edmond’s cellmate whose character is alternately horrifying and lovable. Pillars is a strong enough actor to impose a rhythm on the two scenes he shares with Cotovsky, which grounds Cotovsky and in turn improves his performance.
