The Old Boy in New Times

By Deardra Shuler

 

Those interested in the production, “The Old Boy,” only have a few days to see it before it closes on March 30^th. Showcased on Theatre Row at the Harold Clurman Theatre, located at 410 West 42^nd Street, “The Old Boy,” highlights the lives of two private boarding school roommates in their youth in the 1960s and later as adults in the early 1990s.  A revival of an A.R. Gurney play presented off-Broadway in 1991, the subject matter is no longer as startling as it was formerly, especially with President Obama and others embracing gay marriage and gay rights laws. 

The show begins in the early 1990s with effeminate minister Dexter (Tom Riis Farrell) an administrator of a preppy prep school, welcoming former student, Sam (Peter Rini), and his campaign manager Bud (Cary Donaldson), back to Sam’s former prep school to give a commencement speech and to announce an indoor tennis wing dedicated to a former student to whom Sam was once Old Boy.  An Old Boy is a seasoned classmate who takes a new student under his wing to help the new boy adjust to the school and his new surroundings. In Sam’s case, he was Old Boy to a new boy named Perry. Perry’s parents were divorced with his father pursuing his artistic talents in New York and his mother Harriet, safeguarding the family’s considerable wealth.

Through late 1960s flashback scenes, the audience is introduced to Sam and Perry during their school days.  However as an adult, we find Sam running for governor and trying to hide the fact his second marriage is faltering.  Drawn to revisit his former school, thus sidetracking the campaign trail to the consternation of Bud (who is doing his level best to keep Sam away from unneeded publicity and scandal), Sam finds that not only is he being asked to give a speech but to reunite with Perry’s mother, Harriet and his old girlfriend Alison, who had married Perry.

In flashback, Harriet (portrayed by Laura Esterman) wants desperately to get her odd-ball son into an environment filled with wholesome young men attracted to sports, girls and manly endeavors.  After meeting Sam, Harriet’s hopeful that Sam would instill in Perry all the required masculine qualities that would assure him a normal life of wine, women and eventual children.  So bent was Harriet on this quest, she refused to see Perry’s true nature.  It wasn’t long before the other boys recognized that Perry was different and began to suggest he had homosexual tendencies which Perry vehemently denied.  Attempting to dispute the rumors about Perry, Sam encouraged Perry to put aside his penchant for music, desire for the stage, and keep his focus only on the sport of tennis.  Confused about his sexuality himself, the virginal Perry, agreed to drink beer, hoot and holler and fall in line with the rest of his school mates, even winning the school’s championship tennis cup.  Back then, Sam convinced Perry to go out with Alison (Marsha Dietlein Bennet) who was feeling rejected by Sam’s womanizing ways, so decided to give Perry and his money a go. 

In order to keep her son on the straight and narrow, Harriet bribes Sam into taking a trip out West with Perry to make sure he does not join his artistic father in New York.  It was on this trip that Sam discovers Perry had had a gay affair when visiting his father in New York.  Disgusted, Sam tells Perry their friendship is over if he experiments further with homosexuality. Desperate to keep Sam’s friendship, Perry agrees to begin a serious relationship with Alison.

 After being told by Dexter that Perry’s mother was donating a huge amount of money to the school in Perry’s honor, Sam learns that Perry had died mysteriously. Bud finds out Perry died of AIDS and tells Sam its not good politics to associate with homosexual issues.  After Sam reunites with Harriet and Alison, he learns that Alison, both loved and hated Perry who she felt trapped her into a loveless marriage while he engaged in a homosexual lifestyle.  She tries to renew her passion for Sam who while tempted, remains loyal to Perry’s memory.  Sam’s feels guilty he persuaded Perry to live a life against his true nature.  Too hot an issue to take on the campaign trail, Bud threatens to leave Sam’s campaign unless he distances himself from giving a speech honoring Perry.  Sam agrees but in the end jeopardizes his political career by taking on the issue of homosexuality to assuage himself of his guilt. 

Although, the cast and direction are stellar, given today’s liberal attitude about homosexuality, this Obie Award winning play, The Old Boy doesn’t carry the shock value or impact that it did when originally presented to the New York stage in 1991.