Review: "Fool For Love" Columbus Civic Theater

Author Sam Shepherd described his play, “Fool For Love”  as a reflection of all the feelings he had been going through at that time.  Critics of the time described Shepherd as a young avant garde writer who liked to shock and surprise audiences.

   Columbus Civic Theater’s current production of this play attempts to emphasize the shock value, according to Director Richard Albert.

    The story centers on May (Christina Yoho) and Eddie (Ben Turner) who have a love/hate relationship.  After a long absence, Eddie turns up at the remote, sleazy hotel where May has been living and trying to reestablish some sort of normalcy in her life -- complete with a job and new boyfriend, Martin (Ryan Heitkamp). 

    At opening, May is sitting on her bed, almost comatose, as Eddie tries to reassure her that he won’t leave her again.  An old man (Dave Morgan) sits off to the side as a ghost who occasionally interjects commentary that only the audience hears. Allegedly he is father to both May and Eddie by different mothers. According to critics and those close to Shepherd, this character is meant to represent Shepherd’s alcoholic father.

    May grabs Eddie and attempts to cling to him briefly; then suddenly comes to her senses and begins to berate him.  A wrestling match ensues. Eddie threatens to leave. May lures him back with her taunts. The action seesaws back and forth as May and Eddie each try to up the stakes with increasingly acerbic accusations and threats. Hapless Martin enters and becomes a pawn in the cat-and-mouse game between Eddie and May as each attempts to regale Martin with different versions of their mothers’ relationships with The Old Man.

   Line delivery, characterizations, commitments to the story are compelling.   According to Yoho, in my conversation with her following the performance, she and Turner get so caught up in these characters that the physical violence between them becomes realistic at times.  She showed me her bruises as proof. 

    These antics successfully hold the audience’s attention for the first 15 to 20 minutes. Then the script runs out of gas. The shock wears off.  Much of the verbal taunting that carries on for another 60 minutes becomes tedious and boring.  

    The set is one of the more interesting designs I’ve seen on the tiny Columbus Civic Stage in that it includes realistic details for the room entrance and the bathroom, which May escapes to several times, slamming the door for emphasis.

   The costumes are mostly things that the players would have found in their closets. Interesting props include a lassoing rope, a gun and Eddie’s spurs.

    The original 1983 production was directed by Shepherd himself at San Francisco’s Magic Theater where Shepherd was playwright in residence.  

   It moved to New York later that year where it had a two-year run – mostly off Broadway.  It was nominated for a Pulitzer prize as best drama in1984. Shepherd won a 1984 Obie award for his direction of the play. It had a four-month run in London in 1985. The 1985 film version directed by Robert Altman, featured Shepherd himself as Eddie and Kim Basinger as May.  The reviews were mixed.
   Shepherd is a skilled writer.  The production contains many exciting moments.  All four actors do well with the material that is provided.  My personal bias tends toward seeing good stories unfold on stage.  By the author's and director's own admissions, they are more interested in trying to shock audiences than in telling a good story.