THE DUMB WAITER and
Two gangland assassins wait in a bare room for the man they are to murder. Though they have a fine record with the Organization, Gus is beginning to ask a few too many questions. This hint of cold feet disturbs his senior partner, Ben, who reads him appalling stories from a tabloid to raise his misanthropic morale and to help them both ignore the mysterious dumbwaiter that persists in sending them inexplicable messages . . .
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For some reason the Resistance has chosen as one of its debut plays Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter. Written in 1960, this one-act is one of the most popular acting exercises for two male characters (after Waiting for Godot and The Odd Couple), possibly because the lack of reference points characteristic of Pinter makes his plays perfect tabulae rasae for directors, actors, and audiences. Unfortunately, this particular work has been analyzed so many times that the question of whether it is a parable of the welfare state, the criminal subculture, the social ethic, or the corporate imperative is no longer compelling. What we are left with are simply two men in a room, one worrying about the other and the other worrying about himself, a situation that director Richard Gosse’s by-the-book production does nothing to clarify.
The Resistance developed from Valparaiso University’s Underground Theatre, a “student run . . . forum for creativity, that opened doors for many unheard on the main stage.” The Resistance retains traces of collegiate arrogance but displays much talent as well–notably in Simon Perry’s intelligent Ben and Ron Gilbert’s coloratura Nicholas (though his performance is so distinctive it appears to have been recycled from a previous production, mentioned in a program note).
