LA Weekly
1/23/03
(Recommended)
Reviewed by Neal Weaver
Though David Mamet’s comedy is nominally a sequel to his Speed-the-Plow , it has little visible relation to the earlier play, aside from the name of the central character. Bobby (Jon Cellini) finds himself in hell at the mercy of a perverse, erratic, bullying Interrogator (Aaron Jettleson) and his docile-but-subversive Assistant (Fritz Weiss). Bobby is called to account for his sins. Yet however dubious his behavior may have been in the earlier play, here his malefactions seem pretty mild: He told his girlfriend, with dubious sincerity, that he loved her, and made far-fetched verbal threats when she proved intransigent. When the girl (Beth Navarro) is brought in to testify against him, she proves to be such a maddeningly egocentric grievance collector (shades of Oleanna ) that even the Interrogator throws her out. Despite clev er dialogue and a brilliant surface, this metaphysical vaudeville show is Mamet lite — too eccentric and fuzzy minded to be a serious examination of guilt, repentance and retribution. But as wacky verbal comedy, fraught with paradox, contradictions and non sequiturs, it’s fun, funny and provocative. Doug Lowry provides expert direction, a fine cast performs with finesse, and Michele Kay’s fire-and-brimstone-oozing set cleverly mocks traditional notions of hell.

BackStage West
Reviewed By Brad Schreiber
David Mamet had a special place in his heart for film executive Bobby Gould from his Speed-the-Plow. Undoubtedly that's why he sent him to hell to suffer for eternity. Whether Gould deserves that fate and whether he will be able to weasel his way out of it are the subjects of this follow-up to the playwright's earlier condemnation of Hollywood types.

Gould (Jon Cellini) sits in shocked stupor as the Interrogator (Aaron Jettleson) castigates him for a litany of character flaws, most particularly the accusation, "You were cruel without being interesting." The Assistant (Fritz Weiss) stands by officiously, flipping through a large volume, detailing Gould's specific acts and words that have sent him to the underworld, occasionally mimicking the Interrogator's words—a smug toady.

Gould protests over and over, "I was a good man," to the point of annoyance—one of the†weaknesses in Mamet's text—but thankfully things rebound when Glenna (Beth Navarro, Gould's earthbound girlfriend, is summoned to Hades and not only tears into him but gives a lot of lip to the Interrogator, refusing to leave. Eventually, Gould concludes that humans sin because, "I think we want God to notice us." He is given a chance to save his soul. What he does with the opportunity is the most moving moment of this amusing but flawed one-act.

Mamet neither discusses Gould's showbiz past nor any actions that can clearly be seen as warranting a trip to hell. Cellini, however, does a good job withholding his fury until the end. Jettleson pushes his anger beyond a reasonable limit and is sometimes too quiet in his delivery, still striving for a demonic balance in his role. Navarro has a brief but hilarious role as a strident martinet and evokes a laugh or two. It's Weiss, though—tall, blond, smarmy when not cowed—who makes every moment count.

Director Doug Lowry ably moves the play along at a snappy pace, although his decision to place Gould upstage on a riser forces the Interrogator to show the audience his back far too often. In the end more philosophical musing than character exploration, Mamet's version of damnation is damned to be more clever than probing, its flaws in logic poking us with an analytical pitchfork while we enjoy the squirming of the doomed.

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