By F. KATHLEEN FOLEY
FEB 04, 2015
First produced in the late 1980s, Howard Korder's 'Boys' Life' garnered a Pulitzer nomination for its portrait of three disaffected young urban men on the prowl for women.
Jack Stehlin, director of the play's current production at the Asylum Theatre, originated the role of Jack -- the most brutally cynical of the trio -- in an earlier one-act that Korder later incorporated into his full-length play.
Stehlin's enduring affinity for the material is evident in his crisply paced and thoughtful staging.
Unfortunately, Korder couldn't have anticipated the rampant rise of the 'bro' culture, or the flagrant female objectification across all formats, from stage to screen to kiddie beauty pageants. In short, what may have been sociologically incisive some 30 years ago seems a bit toothless today.
Still, Stehlin redresses many of the play's shortcomings in this production, which may lack a certain bite, but which still nibbles the funny bone -- and takes an occasional nip at the heartstrings as well.
The women in the show -- all excellent here -- have been double cast. The men remain the same throughout the run. Brendan Brandt's lonely, whiny Phil is comically clueless, as is Noah James' Don, who yearns for emotional connection but just can't summon the words. Jeff Kongs plays Jack, the king womanizer -- and, ironically, the sole married man among these post-collegiate sad sacks, whose raw need -- and scathing contempt -- for women is both telling and terrifying.
Not to damn with faint praise, but Stehlin has orchestrated the play's frequent scene shifts with the logistical finesse of a field marshal. That may seem a negligible point, but it's really indicative of Stehlin's directorial craft, which is evident on every level of this diverting but slight 'Life.'
'Boys' Life,' the New American Theatre at the Asylum Theatre, 1078 N. Lillian Way, Hollywood. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Ends March 7. $18. www.NewAmericanTheatre.com Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Boy s Life
- Author : Robert R. McCammon
- Publisher : Open Road Media
- Release Date : 2011-10-18
- Genre: Fiction
- Pages : 582
- ISBN 10 : 9781453231562
That is the message that resonates in the double bill of plays being mounted by The Seeing Place: Howard Korder’s Boys’ Life from 1988, and Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl from 2000.With this pair of plays, The Seeing Place and its founders Ms. Cronican and Mr. Walker (she directs Boys’ Life and he the Gilman play) display a remarkable level of maturity as a theatrical enterprise in this, only its sixth season. 307799934 Boys Life Howard Korder (Dragged) - Free download as PDF File (.pdf) or view presentation slides online. Male: “Phil” – Boys’ Life – Howard Korder I would have: monologuesrus Paperback55 pages. There he worked his animation magic Ethan rated it liked it Dec 09, Scanavino is eager-to-please stoner Don, who falls in love and seems to want to become an emotional.
GET BOOKBoy s Life Book Description :Search And Destroy Howard Korder
An Alabama boy’s innocence is shaken by murder and madness in the 1960s South in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song. It’s 1964 in idyllic Zephyr, Alabama. People either work for the paper mill up the Tecumseh River, or for the local dairy. It’s a simple life, but it stirs the impressionable imagination of twelve-year-old aspiring writer Cory Mackenson. He’s certain he’s sensed spirits whispering in the churchyard. He’s heard of the weird bootleggers who lurk in the dark outside of town. He’s seen a flood leave Main Street crawling with snakes. Cory thrills to all of it as only a young boy can. Then one morning, while accompanying his father on his milk route, he sees a car careen off the road and slowly sink into fathomless Saxon’s Lake. His father dives into the icy water to rescue the driver, and finds a beaten corpse, naked and handcuffed to the steering wheel—a copper wire tightened around the stranger’s neck. In time, the townsfolk seem to forget all about the unsolved murder. But Cory and his father can’t. Their search for the truth is a journey into a world where innocence and evil collide. What lies before them is the stuff of fear and awe, magic and madness, fantasy and reality. As Cory wades into the deep end of Zephyr and all its mysteries, he’ll discover that while the pleasures of childish things fade away, growing up can be a strange and beautiful ride. “Strongly echoing the childhood-elegies of King and Bradbury, and every bit their equal,” Boy’s Life, a winner of both the Bram Stoker and World Fantasy Awards, represents a brilliant blend of mystery and rich atmosphere, the finest work of one of today’s most accomplished writers (Kirkus Reviews).