Among all of the sports, boxing consistently produces the most gripping stories. Rod Serling’s portrayal of one battered gladiator of the ring, Requiem for a Heavyweight, was originally written for live production on “Playhouse 90” in 1956 and became one of the most acclaimed works of the era.  If you see the superlative production by the Heritage-O’Neill Theatre Company, you will understand why.

Harlan “Mountain” McClintock (Sean Coe) is a proud heavyweight at the end of his career. A simple man from the hills of Tennessee, he was once the number five heavyweight and in 111 fights he never took a dive. The play opens with a doctor examining a badly beaten McClintock.  The toll of 14 years of prize fighting has caused so much damage that that another fight could blind or even kill him.  Faced with the loss of his boxing license, McClintock must choose a new direction in his life.

McClintock’s corrupt manager Maish (Frank Vince) is in hock to a gangster because he bet McClintock would not last four rounds.  He needed the money to buy the contract of a new fighter now that McClintock is over the hill.  Maish’s girlfriend, a prostitute played with alluring charm by Hillary Kaiser, sums their two professions by saying “We both sell it by the pound.”

Maish, who is willing to lie to McClintock to keep him morally indebted and committed to him long enough to pay off his $3,000 debt, has some twisted integrity and love for McClintock. He arranges for him to become a fake pro wrestler in a silly frontier costume. Even knowing that becoming such a clown would extract a heavy toll on McClintock’s soul, the conflicted manager genuinely seems to believe he’s doing the right thing.

Fighting Maish for McClintock’s future is Grace Miller (Amy Rauch), a devoted employment counselor who feels a growing compassion for this sweet man.  She tries to overcome McClintock’s pessimism (“Big dummy like me, what kind of job can I get?”) and persuade him that he needs to try something different to build a new life.

The entire cast is top notch.  While McClintock is the one role that is difficult to make believable, Coe’s straightforward portrayal of the likeable lug steadily grows on you.  Amy Rauch gives Grace a perfectly balanced combination of determination and empathy.  As for Frank Vince’s performance of the conflicted Maish, it is one of the finest performances this reviewer has seen this year.

The same quality is found in the supporting cast members who relish the distinctive street dialogue that made Serling an acclaimed television writer long before “The Twilight Zone” era.  Most notably, Dexter Hamlett is a standout who infuses real emotion into his portrayal of Army, McClintock’s loyal trainer and cut man and Robert Christie gives a sharp portrayal of Leo Loomis, a contrasting and even lower class manager who is as loud and brash as his plaid sports jacket.

The different sets are deliberately bland, consisting mostly of plain wooden furniture.  Borrowing from the conventions of television filming, the stage consists of three fixed sets and one swing area which are all visible to the audience.  While the program explains that it was done in part for functional reasons, it has additional resonance in showing the limited world that McClintock inhabits.  He spends most of his time in a hotel room, a locker room, and a seedy bar aptly named“The Graveyard.”populated with aspiring and former boxers.

Requiem for a Heavyweight is distinctively rooted in a specific world and era, one that can be viewed with nostalgia by fans of the “sweet science” who miss an era in which there were only eight world champions at a time.  Yet the story is timeless in its portrayal of a man at a crossroads in his life who must find his future while being pulled in different directions.  It’s a profound story of personal self-examination and growth and director Karey Faulkner gives it an honest and moving staging.

While the Metro area has a wonderful diversity of theatre, it would be a shame if this outstanding production gets lost in the crowd. 

Requiem for a Heavyweight runs thru Feb 19, 2011 at The Heritage-O’Neill Theatre, Parks and Recreations Building, 4010 Randolph Rd, Silver Spring, MD.

Requiem for a Heavyweight

Written by Rod Serling
Directed by Karey Faulkner
Produced by The Heritage-O’Neill Theatre Company
Reviewed by Steven McKnight

Highly Recommended

Running time: 2 hrs 15 min with one intermission

 

Although the set and scenery are sparse, the production of "REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT" (To 2/19) by the Heritage-O'Neill Theatre Company is totally engrossing with a perfect cast and delicious acting by all.  This script by Rod Serling is somewhat predictable about a fighter who is hopeless as his fisticuff career is at an end but the exceptional playing and directing of this story is emotionally uncompromised.   Particularly effective is the nuanced playing of the lead by Sean Coe which should garner awards.  He is totally physically and emotionally perfect as the lead.  One leaves the theater hoping that Mountain McClintock will find a more comfortable life ahead and not be subject to more inhumanity by others.  Frank Vince is most effective as the conniving manager and his emotional outbursts are electrifying. Amy Rauch as the benevolent girlfriend  gives a totally sensitive portrayal and her love scene with Mountain is impassioned as they are both lost souls.  Equally exciting is Dexter Hamlett as the caring side kick for Mountain as he listens and reacts perfectly in all of his scenes.   Director Karey Faulkner has the actors entering and leaving through the audience which makes the audience feel within the scenes throughout.  She does wonders in creating beautiful interactions of all of the characters.  This is a highly recommended current show in the area.  Others in this perfect cast are: Hilary Kacser, Robert Christie, Sam McCrea, George Tamerlani, David Segal, Shawn Golanski and Brent Bauer.  (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)

Bob Anthony

ALL ARTS REVIEW 4 U;  January 29, 2011

www.AllArtsReview4U.com