REVIEW

Published Friday, April 22, 2005
If There's a Will, There's a 'This is Our Youth'
by Nancy P. Moser

Jason Glick said let there be theater, and there was theater.

This weekend, the Tidmarsh Lane Drama Society, an organization funded by the Office of Student Affairs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), debuts its performance of This is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan, in the Adams House Pool Theater (13 Bow St., Cambridge).

Begun by Jason Glick, a masters candidate in the Teaching and Learning program, the Society provides an outlet for HGSE students to use performance as an educational tool.

The extent to which Glick’s classmates take advantage of this opportunity remains to be seen, as both auditions and the opening night performance were, unfortunately, sparsely attended.

However, that seems unlikely to discourage the unstoppable Glick, who produced, directed, set designed, sound designed, starred in, and postered for a show he has been burning to mount since he saw a rendition in England. Did we mention he sold tickets, too?

The play, set in Manhattan’s Upper West Side during the 1980’s, centers on the lives of two damaged, angry young men who are struggling to find meaning in the materialistic world they’ve inherited.

It begins with the socially awkward and disturbingly manic Warren, convincingly portrayed by Brandeis University’s Jake Barnett, who steals $15,000 from his abusive father and then seeks refuge at the home of his peer and drug dealer, Dennis. Played with intense bitterness and bravado by Glick, Dennis reluctantly agrees to host the sniveling Warren if it means he can ridicule and bully this outcast for his own selfish aggrandizement.

While their parents may have made it big in the lingerie and art worlds respectively, Dennis and Warren had far from happy childhoods-and are ambling irresponsibly toward a perpetual adolescence, stealing, smoking and loafing their way through life. It is only when Warren has an improbable love connection with Jessica (whose tricky, Mamet-esque dialogue gets saucy treatment by Sarah Stein, Harvard College’08)-and Dennis comes face to face with tragedy-that these boys begin to sober up into men.

But if this is our youth, as the title proclaims, help us all. This play is an indictment of the shallow society that could produce such damaged progeny. And, while the play’s message might seem relegated to an elite section of American society during the Reagan era, there are implications for us all, especially as educators who choose to help guide our youth through the difficult process of growing up.

When asked what he hopes the audience will take away from seeing the show, Glick responded, “I want the audience to enjoy themselves and have a laugh, but I also think the play offers an interesting perspective on relationships, identity, and youth culture.”

While the show will certainly engender conversations about Lonergan’s portrayal of American culture, the audience might have more difficulty knowing the appropriate moments at which to have the laugh Glick hopes.

Not only are the characters’ foibles more disturbing than they are funny, certain artistic decisions did not contribute to the desired light-hearted effect. For example, a vintage baseball cap-a significant prop in context-was replaced with a witch’s hat as an attempt at “implementing Brecht’s alienation effect.” Explains Glick, “We wanted to experiment and see what happens if you take a really emotional moment and remove some of that emotion by putting in a ridiculous item. We also thought it would be funny.”

While this reviewer was more perplexed than amused by this choice, one thing is perfectly clear: Glick’s efforts to produce this provocative piece were Herculean and impressive. Whether the Tidmarsh Lane Drama Society will continue after Glick’s graduation is an open question, given the amount of work it took to produce this show.

Assistant produced by Arminda King, L&T ’05, with technical support provided by Brian Veprek, L&T ’05, This is Our Youth offers students at HGSE a chance to support our classmates in taking the initiative to create a space for theater within our community. Performances, free for HGSE students, continue throughout the weekend: Friday, April 22, at 8 pm and Saturday, April 23 at 2 and 8 p.m.

Nancy P. Moser is a student in the Education Policy and Management program..