In the world premiere and playwriting debut of actor/director, Dain Geist, at Main Street Theater, audiences are sure to welcome the new writing voice of a local artist. Directing as well, Geist gives the audience dark comedy with a heavy splash of moral conversations and in return Houston audiences finally get to experience a play about assassins. While the play occasionally lags and lacks thrills, the characters and conversations make this 80-minute show an enjoyable and amusing ride.
In Seven Assassins Walk Into a Bar Bartleby (Dwight Clark), an assassin, dies, so six of his friends — all assassins — descend upon an unknown location to pay their respects. While their dead friend lies in a casket, trained killers attempt to put their differences and dislikes away out of respect for their beloved colleague.
Taft (Christianne Mays) takes it upon herself to organize his wake and the first guest who arrives is Green (Saroa-Dwayne Sasa), whose reputation as an assassin has increased after he exterminated a high profile criminal. Vane (Brad Goertz), the debonair and stylish aesthete with a penchant for semi automatics, and Rabbit (Kara Greenberg), the ballsy feminist theist who does not shy away from confronting her male colleagues when unfairness arises, reconnect and update each other about what has happened in their lives.
Neither Vane nor Rabbit care for Montana (Seth Carter Ramsey), the loutish and short-tempered philistine who lacks the more disciplined touch to killing that Vane prefers. Montana picked up his trade from prison while Vane and Rabbit learned their art from the CIA.
Midas (Callina Anderson) is the last to arrive. Clad in all black and sunglasses, she is the most unfeeling and objective killer in the room.
How often do six assassins gather in a room together? How often are they able to talk about the difficulties of their job? No one goes to the water cooler after killing a government politician or a witness for the prosecution.
This wake is their water cooler. They tell stories of their past escapades, argue the philosophies of how they kill and connect on the negative aspects of the job they all have to do. Not so much interested in defining what right and wrong or good and evil is, but more interested in how these assassins have justified their own moral compass, this play lives in a world of complex and grey moral action.
Mays brings contemplative and introspective life to the seemingly matter-of-fact veteran. Mays does not use euphemisms to express the fact she kills people. It’s clear that she sees a difference between killing a “good” person vs. killing a “bad” person, but even she struggles with the blurred lines of what constitutes “good” and “bad” anymore. Her nuanced expressions of worry and self-doubt reveal layers of inner conflict and self-loathing that are undoubtedly a result of her oft-mentioned last assignment in Dresden.
Ramsey delivers as the boisterous, unapologetic killer and he brings a lawless and rogue spiritedness that lacked in his absence. Upon his entrance, the mood shifts, and it begins to seem like an assassination could take place. While Ramsey is politically incorrect and irascible, what could be presumed as hatred is played primarily from a place of common sense and practicality. While his methods of killing lead to more casualties, the attention that some of the other assassins pay to how he kills seems impractical and almost nit-picky. Ramsey’s no frill and unflinching performance allows for any initial judgment that would hinder connecting to his character to fall by the wayside.
As the rookie, Sasa starts out more timid but slowly grows to speak up and express his opinions. Goertz’s dry observations and quick wit brings the laughter, and Greenberg’s allure and self-assurance gives insight to the various ways that assassins can disarm their targets. Anderson’s impersonal coldness toward the people she has killed matched how disconnected and disjointed she is in the group.
The characters are a smorgasbord of conflicting ideals and hidden vulnerabilities, and this ensemble accomplishes unifying the disparate points of views and behaviors into an acceptable night of theater.
When a play is essentially six people in a room having a conversation, sometimes, the characters can blend, and they lack a unique voice. It becomes difficult to distinguish between what each believes and how they stand out as individuals. However, Geist, as both writer and director, shines at making each character a distinct person.
The costume design, by Macy Lyne, is striking. Whether it’s Vada’s crisp, sharply cut oversized blazer, Green’s well-worn Camo pants and boots, Vane’s tailored pinstripe plum three piece suit, Rabbit’s cognac brown knee high heeled boots, Montana’s classic denim jeans, or Midas’ all-black uniform, each character is clearly defined and their philosophy on killing on display through their costume.
While the characters are distinctly interesting and the dialogue sharp, the humor and moral ambiguity can only do so much to drive a story that lacks any real action. Thankfully, the play is 80 minutes but by the hour mark, there is a growing desire for a lot more action, a lot more suspicion, a lot more distrust and a lot more cunning. For people who manipulate, deceive and kill for a living, they’re quite forthcoming and trusting among each other.
The twist is only a twist if you don’t look at the program beforehand, and the resulting fallout is more a battle of morals than a battle of physical or mental acumen. This play never pretends to be a showcase for dynamic fight choreography, physical combat, or any exciting thrills. No theatrical presentations of artful ways to kill someone. There are no attempts to revel in the violent world of the assassins.
Instead, the play focuses on the codes or philosophies people create to justify their actions. Despite the pacing and lack of dramatic action, the dialogue and characters invite the audience to ponder the complex dynamics of morality and necessary evils.
Performances continue through March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. on February 23 and March 2 and 3 p.m. Sundays at MST-Rice Village, 2540 Times Boulevard. For more information, call 713-524-6706 or visit mainstreettheater.com. $40-$63.
