The Shape of Things
Not many plays deal with art as directly as Neil LaBute’s “The Shape of Things.” Not only does it ask the interminable What is art? but also how far can an artist go before we draw the line? This is the chief question at hand in LaBute’s 2001 play, currently being staged by the up-and-coming Variations Theatre Group. Their rendition draws the line between art and exploitation, but it’s closer to the psychotic than even the original dared to go.
For those who have somehow not seen one of the many versions of the play (made popular by the 2003 film starring the original theatrical cast) the story goes that Evelyn, a passionate MFA art student lures dweebish Adam into a relationship and manipulates him into making major changes in his life over the next four and a half months, things like losing weight, dressing better and getting a nose job. Her efforts are questionable or admirable, depending on how you look at it. The only catch is it’s for her thesis and she’s been acting the whole time.
It raises lots of questions, which is probably why the play/movie has had a lasting impact on audiences, moreso than some of LaBute’s other work like IN THE COMPANY OF MEN or YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, which deal with some of the same the issues but without the cleverness of “The Shape of Things.” The Variations production is equally clever and funnier, actually, than LaBute’s film, owing mainly to Deven Anderson’s jocky, cocky Philip, whom he plays with an unlikely and effective combination of edge, humor and heart as well as Adam, played by Kirk Gostowski whose impeccable comic timing and understated nerdy quirkiness brings unexpected laughs to his scenes with Evelyn (Alice Bahlke) who never misses an opportunity to play up the psychotic angle of her character.
It’s performed in a small black box theatre painted white (the first scene takes place in a museum) and hung with empty frames, an ever-present reminder of what is at stake in each scene. The rest of the stage is kept bare so as not to detract from the performance. This works well for the most part, especially in the second to last scene when the actors take their seats in the audience and Evelyn delivers her MFA thesis to us, occasionally pausing to ask if we have questions. There are still a few quirks to work out, namely in the first scene when Evelyn is supposedly spray painting her number on the inside of Adam’s coat and then uses the spray bottle moments later to deface a statue but no sound or color comes out, ironic in a scene about how art must be unabashedly true, but these are small and forgivable missteps in a production that is otherwise so obviously earnest in its commitment to the art of the play.
“The Shape of Things” at The Secret Theatre runs until May 8.
