Let us go then, you and I . . . to a time of flappers and philosophers, of H.L. Mencken and his smart set, of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe.
April Fool’s Day 1919 is the time; the place is an arid, paper-ridden office loft in Manhattan.
The future is dead ahead.
But there is still “The Violet Hour” to be had.
Vintage Theater and Hunger Artists Ensemble Theater’s production of Richard Greenberg’s play features a cast with good chemistry and solid focus, which keeps them deftly negotiating terrain that would bring down a lesser group.
Ben Cowhick plays young publisher John Pace Seavering, modeled after F. Scott Fitzgerald’s editor, Maxwell Perkins. The play’s Fitzgeraldesque character, Denis McCleary, is played by Brian Kusic.
And the casting is wise. Cowhick and Kusic are young — both are still studying theater at Metro State — but their youth and inexperience — a certain rawness — are well-suited to their characters, whose soon-to-flower- into-brilliant careers are budding.
Denis has turned in “a catastrophe of pages” that will someday be a novel. Its title is “The Violet Hour” — “that wonderful New York hour when the evening’s about to reward you for the day,” he says.
John, paralyzed by a fear of failure (“You have no spirit of ruin,” Denis tells him), can’t seem to pull the trigger on which story to publish. He has two choices, but only enough capital for one. Will it be his best friend’s or that of his secret — and older — lover, the singer Jessie Brewster, a Josephine Baker/Billie Holiday character?
As he yearns for a crystal ball, to avoid mucking up his future, there enters the “god from the machine” — a farcical turn that creates wrinkly havoc.
Cowhick is riveting during a passage in which he ponders the aftermath of the Great War with Jessie. She can’t understand the confusing exuberance of young men who “have made sadness famous.”
His answer foretells the works of the Lost Generation, and his description of that early century catastrophe carries with it echoes of 9/11 — “the century’s still so young and all the worst things have already happened in it.” The effect is devastating.
Jason Maxwell has tremendous presence as towering, cowering office assistant Gidger, with an affected linguistic veneer that sets the tone of the times. He makes the role his own, a difficult task, as it was written for comedian/”Sex in the City” actor Mario Cantone.
As the writer, Kusic gets the best lines — Greenberg’s writing could have the audience taking notes, although there are some meanderings.
John’s romance with chanteuse Jessie, played with a lovely wisdom by Kimberly Nicole, features a bit more chemistry, but the dated racial references are jarring — although Greenberg takes aim at the politically correct urges of the late 20th century.
In fact, he takes clever swings at all manner of targets. Bull’s-eyes, all.
“The Violet Hour” *** (out of four stars)
Drama. Presented by Vintage Theatre in collaboration with Hunger Artists at 2119 E. 17th Ave. Written by Richard Greenberg. Directed by Stacey Nelms. Through Aug. 9. 2 hours, 5 minutes. 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays. $17-$22. 303-839-1361 or
