LaBute’s American Man, On His Own

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The New York Sun

The theater scene has always been a volatile, varying one, but in recent seasons theatergoers could count on at least three things. One: There would be a new play by Neil LaBute.Two: It would be staged either at MCC Theatre (where “Fat Pig,” “Some Girl(s)” and “The Mercy Seat” had their premieres) or the Public Theatre (“This Is How It Goes”). And three: The play would feature at least one Hollywood star — Jeremy Piven headlined “Fat Pig”; Eric McCormick starred in “Some Girl(s”); and Ben Stiller was in the cast of “This Is How It Goes.”

The 2006–07 season is no exception. The Labute play this time around is “Wrecks.” The place? The Public Theatre (beginning tomorrow). And the star? Ed Harris, portraying a new widower chain-smoking his way through a very unusual confession (not an apology, mind you, but a confession) in a monologue.

“I love that form,” Mr. LaBute said in a recent interview. “Wrecks” marks the first time the dramatist has used the solo format since his breakthrough stage work “bash.” “I like the monologue; the ability to use the audience in a way that connects with them, that says ‘I trust you.'”

One would be ill-advised, however, to trust any character in a LaBute play or film. They are a slippery, amoral bunch — duplicitous, scheming, and relentlessly self-justifying. The male lead (they are mostly men, these reprobates) in “Some Girl(s)” purports to be seeking forgiveness from past girlfriends he has wronged, while taperecording them for a projected magazine article. The protagonist in “Fat Pig” cares more for the opinions of his malicious and shallow officemates than for the overweight woman he loves.

Mr. Harris’s character — named Ed — seems well adjusted enough for the first three-quarters of the hour-long play, unspooling, with a combination of frankness and sentimentality, the 30-year history he shared with his recently deceased wife.

That is, until one of Mr. LaBute’s patented, late-inning twists knocks the legs out from under both the play and the audience. For reasons that will become obvious to anyone who sees the play, both author and theater wish to reveal little about the plot. But Mr LaBute’s admission that “at the root of this is this Greek idea,” and the play’s tricky title should provide a few hints.

“Wrecks” made its debut in fall 2005 at the Everyman Palace Theatre in Cork, Ireland. Mr. LaBute had become friendly with artistic director Patrick Talbot when the two worked on two plays at the famous Gate Theatre in Dublin. When Mr. Talbot assumed his current position at Everyman, recalled Mr. LaBute, “We made one of those very sweet pacts of ‘Hey, let’s work together,’ that are sometimes very difficult to fulfill.”

But fulfill it they did, adding Mr. Harris to the mix to play Ed. Since Mr. LaBute, 43, had decided to direct his own work, rehearsals consisted of him and Mr. Harris alone in a room. But no power struggle ensued. “I think he has the same spirit that I do, which is: let as little ego that you can into the room,” Mr. LaBute said. “Also, I’m not frightened by somebody else having an idea. And he’s a director, so his instincts as a director are very good. You have that extra set of eyes, which you really need when you write and direct something. It’s impossible for me to say, ‘Oh, now I’ll put on my directing hat and I’ll be objective.'”

Mr. Harris’s character is a specialty of the writer’s, one he calls “That white American, prototypical, business male.” He’s also a good talker — Mr. LaBute’s transgressors never lack for words, even if their scruples frequently go missing. “I guess that’s the ultimate act of hubris: to know what you’re doing is wrong, and still do it. While this character sells his case amazingly well, it is a real act of hubris to say, ‘I fly in the face of what most people think of as OK behavior and will justify it to the end.'”

The playwright does believe, however, that Ed is a newish, more, shall we say, devolved animal in the LaBute menagerie, in that he willfully oversteps a line met, but not crossed, by past characters.

“He takes that next step in saying, ‘I believe it was right, what I did,'” said the playwright.

Opens September 26 (425 Lafayette St., between 4th Street and Astor Place, 212-967-7555).


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