Maybe I have a weird sense of beauty, but I’ve got to confess, I got a little choked up when I pulled right up to the door of 7 N. Main on my bike and looked into this brightly lit shopfront on the mall. Beyond a small gallery there were some chairs set up and a small stage with a table, two more chairs and some lamps. When the lights finally went down on Quark’s production of Years to the Day, I knew anybody walking by outside could look in and watch the show. They could watch the audience watching the show. Everything was so minimal, so open, immediate, inviting and accessible. Beautiful without being remotely extravagant.
Of course, I’m a longtime Downtowner so I’m biased. The Main St. mall is a wonder of unrealized potential — a grand front porch of a piazza, begging for art and artists to bring color and life. Quark’s production of Alan Barton’s intense, funny two-man drama is a good start.
Tony Isbell directs Adam Remsen and David Hammons in a play about two middle aged white guys sitting around talking that’s way more engaging than that sounds. Dan (Remsen) and Jeff (Hammons) are old college buddies who’ve grown apart and, prior to the awkward coffee date we witness, haven’t made time to hang out in four years. They’re still connected by way of social media, but that turns out to be a weak thread. The ensuing conversation touches on all the things one might expect from a couple of 40-something guys hanging out talking — the latest film, health, aging, sex, kids, divorce, the grim specter of death on the horizon, etc. Jeff’s gay now. Dan nearly died of a heart attack in the parking lot of a discount store. There’s some catching up to do, and it’s not easy.
Dan’s such a conservative ranter and despiser of all things “nanny state” it’s hard to imagine at times how these two men were ever friends. But the magic of Years to the Day is rooted in a slow-burning revelation that shared personal history creates needs that outweigh cultural values.
The story’s set in a familiar world with an alternative history so familiar situations are presented without the usual cultural/political baggage. This nearly trigger- free environment lets us watch debates without becoming a part of them — to see the dynamics of argument, not the merits of an argument. It’s a nifty, hypnotic writing trick, though it can also feel a little gimmicky at times.
If watching two strong, unaffected actors ruthlessly going for it in a tight, high-stakes game of middle-stakes Life sounds like your idea of a good time, Years to the Day delivers.
I’m not sure what else I can say about this show without spoiling punchlines that sometimes land like actual punches. Clocking in at under 80-minutes, it’s not a huge time investment either, leaving plenty of time to enjoy life on the riverfront.
