HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING


If the idea of spending two hours listening to Catholic conservatives inveigh against abortion, LGBT rights, and other left-wing causes sounds off-putting, think again.

There’s a reason why Will Arbery’s Heroes Of The Fourth Turning, now getting an absolutely sensational Rogue Machine Theatre Los Angeles Premiere, was a 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama. There’s a reason why the New York Times called it “astonishing and riveting.”

The conservatives reuniting in small-town Wyoming are:

Macho outdoorsman Justin (Stephen Tyler Howell), who has stuck around in the Cowboy State the better to deepen his spiritual life and avoid carnal temptations.

Emily (Emily James), daughter of newly inaugurated Transfiguration College president Gina (Roxanne Hart), who suffers from chronic pain so excruciating that most days she stays in bed.

Teresa (Evangeline Edwards), who lives in Brooklyn a couple of blocks away from her (presumably equally celibate) boyfriend and frets that her soul may be in peril because of her frequent cocaine use.

Kevin (Samuel Garnett), who lives in Oklahoma, writes about saints for a Catholic textbook company, attends morning mass three days a week, masturbates pretty much the moment he arrives home, and gets drunk every chance he gets.

If it’s not already clear, playwright Arbery’s characters are the furthest thing from two-dimensional or boring, nor do they share precisely the same beliefs where political and social causes are concerned.

Justin doesn’t just rail against diversity and inclusion training, he despises the very concept of acceptance if it means not just tolerating but affirming “sinful disorders” like homosexuality and transgenderism.

Emily refuses to accept the idea that one of her dearest friends (who happens to be a pro-choice liberal) is a bad person even though Teresa keeps insisting that she is (and won’t give up until she can get Emily to see reason).

Teresa may be virulently pro-life and think Steve Bannon is the closest thing we’ve got to a new messiah, but she almost got herself kicked out of college for having premarital sex.

Kevin finds himself wondering whether he and his fellow Conservative Catholics might possibly be the ones in the wrong, that is when he’s not wishing for a girlfriend, something more easily said than done when you’re both porn and alcohol addicted.

And just wait until Gina shows up a little over halfway through to give these young whippersnappers (and Teresa in particular) a piece of her more life-experienced mind.

Not only has playwright Arbery created five of the most compelling characters you’re likely to see all year, he’s managed to garner raves from progressive drama critics and conservative and Catholic writers alike.

Heroes Of The Fourth Turning explodes with dramatic fireworks on the Matrix Theatre stage under Guillermo Cienfuegos’s incisive direction and crackles with nearly as many laughs as any comedy I can think of, thanks in large part to its five commanding star turns.

Marlboro man Howell (minus the cigarette), empathetic wonder James, statuesque stunner Edwards, believably bombed dynamo Garnett, and the fiery, fabulous Hart are all five at the absolute top of their game.

So too are scenic designer Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, who had me believing I was out in the middle of nowhere; lighting designer Dan Weingarten, who adds to the ominous atmosphere throughout; sound designer Christopher Mostcatiello, who will have you nearly jumping out of your seat on three separate occasions; and costume designer Christine Cover Ferro, whose outfits suit each character to a T. (Kudos too to whoever designed rifle-toting Justin’s prey.)

Heroes Of The Fourth Turning is produced by Justin Okin and John Perrin Flynn. Brett Aune is assistant director. Mark Mendelson is scenic artist. Joe McClean and Dane Bowman are technical co-directors. Flynn is dramaturg. Ramon Valdez is stage manager. Casting is by Victoria Hoffman. Judith Borne is publicist.

 I knew next to nothing going into Heroes Of The Fourth Turning, and that may be the best way to appreciate it. But even if you’ve read this review (and therefore already know too much), I guarantee you’ll be blown away by Rogue Machine Theatre’s latest dazzler.

Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles.
www.roguemachinetheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
August 19, 2023
Photos: John Perrin Flynn

 

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