The characters in Anton Chekhov’s plays are known for their angst. Aaron Posner has adapted many works into plays with Stupid F@*#ing Bird being a contemporary take on The Seagull. I previously encountered this playwright’s version of Uncle Vanya called LIFE SUCKS. This one seemed far less successful for me despite being his most produced play. Maybe I am as bitter and self-loathing as these characters? I blame the bird.
The drama begins with Con (Nicholas Barelli) staging a site-specific theater piece starring his girlfriend (Magdalena Dalzelli). The monologue is a goofy send-up of experimental theater forms. Con’s mother Emma (Laura Sturm), herself an established actress with a capital A, finds the proceedings ridiculous. Queue the angst.
Mom was not a great mother as she was and is still totally self-absorbed. To be fair, however, self-absorption is the order of the day here. There are would be, could be and shouldn’t be love affairs tossed in with jealousies and unrequited longings. Did Mom love her son or just herself? Is Mom’s art of the past now dated hokum as the next generation strives to create new forms? Will a ukulele appear in the production? These questions – and quite a few more – will be considered.
Along the journey there are some terrific quips. Unrequited Mash who longs for Con quotes The Seagull directly with “I’m in mourning for my life”. The world in general is considered as in “what kind of god needs a laugh that bad”? Casual asides consider the war on “blah, blah, blah”. Protest posters of current hot topics are shoe-horned in awkwardly.
Complaining, which can often be inspired fun, is intermixed with attempts to make everyone seem normal underneath their dark rainclouds. A suggested goal: “find someone to snuggle up with every night to maybe help us forget everything we know”. Admittedly a dim worldview but incredibly timely eight years after its writing.
Director Luda Lopatina Solomon lays the malaise on thickly and the performances came across to me as less funny than curiously bland. There were two standouts in the cast. Bob Pries embodies Sorn, the elder statesman who seems amused by the antics around him but admits his life has been all about going through the motions. His happy and supporting uncle is a facade. Even he must show us angst.
David Fink’s portrayal of Dev, the friend, sidekick and generally positive spirit shined brightest. Dev may be desperately in love with Mash who is desperately in love with Con whose mother is desperately in love with Trig who wants Con’s girl to Con’s dismay. But Dev can wield a ukulele and use pliable facial expressions to make us cringe and cheer. He is the jolly mess in this satire who came closest to lifting this amalgam of art, love, life, age and silly miseries above the plodding production of this possibly too clever-for-its own-good play.
Stupid F@*#ing Bird concluded its run at Theater Wit on December 9, 2023. Further angst can currently be explored in Who’s Holiday featuring Cindy Lou Who now living in a trailer.