The Baltimore Messenger
Laughs are more than sketchy at AXIS
01/23/02
By Mike Giuliano
How well will a topical comedy age? You may find yourself asking that question as you settle into your AXIS Theatre seat to watch its new production of Paul Rudnick's 1993 AIDS-themed comedy, "Jeffrey."
It turns out there's no need to worry.
While AIDS, alas, remains a major problem, the play's numerous pop cultural references firmly place it in the early '90s, and the jokes still score.
Most of the play's comic targets, like Martha Stewart, are still with us. Maybe the only thing that's changed is that the Broadway musical "Cats" has closed since Rudnick's script made some "now and forever" jokes at its expense.
If you're familiar with Paul Rudnick's work, you know its building blocks are just such items from our mass culture. In plays like "I Hate Hamlet" and "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," he gets pretty silly as he piles on the references. But that's also how he makes more serious points, as in the probing of gay relationships in "Jeffrey."
The AXIS production is anchored by a winning performance by Jonas David Grey in the title role. A New York actor-waiter, Jeffrey despairs of finding true love and so has vowed to remain celibate. His vow is challenged when Jeffrey is seduced by a fellow waiter, Steve (Oscar Ceville).
In its own way, it's a boy-meets-boy romance akin to the ones tracked by decades of boy-meets-girl romantic comedies; however, this one is complicated by the fact that Steve is HIV-positive.
Jeffrey seeks advice from two friends. Sterling (Robert Neal Marshall) is a proudly swishy interior designer, and Sterling's much younger boyfriend, Darius (Anthony Viglione), is a performer in "Cats" who parades around in his cat costume.
Also populating this sketch-comedy-structured play are Edward Zarkowski, Gregory Bell, Richard Goldberg and Mary Anne Walsh in a variety of roles, including a drag queen, Mother Teresa, Jeffrey's parents and a TV talk show self-help guru.
Director Terry J. Long guides his enthusiastic cast through the mostly goofball scenes. The play is at its zaniest during an AIDS fund-raiser that takes the form of a country-western hoedown. If such scenes don't always pack as much comic punch as they should, it's partly because the playwright often lets a funny skit meander.
However, it's also partly because Long needs to tighten up the pacing a bit. Silliness works best in short doses, and a few of these sketches wear out their welcome. With further tweaking, this funny show could become really funny.
"Jeffrey" continues at AXIS Theatre (Baltimore, 410-243-5237) through Feb. 10. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 on Thursdays and Sundays, $15 on Fridays and Saturdays.
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