Following a developmental reading at The Tank’s PrideFest 2023, a fully staged workshop production of Echo & Narcissus Blast Third Eye Blind Outside a Diner in New Jersey at 2AM, written by NJ-based playwright Brandon Monokian and inspired by the eponymous ancient Roman myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, is now being presented as part of PrideFest 2024. It’s a heartrending examination of the damage caused by indifference to affection and the feelings of those who are closest, with bits of humor that add touches of laughter and render the characters fully three-dimensional.
Framed in the format of a go-back story and the device of a play-within-a-play, the gay reimagining through a post-modern lens and personal perspective moves back and forth in time, from 2018 to 1999 in South Jersey and 2012 in NYC, as it follows the relationship of two teenage boys and their circle of friends, colleagues, and lovers over the decades, dealing with coming out (or being outed), a violent homophobic attack that leaves them scarred, and the central issues of unrequited love and self-obsession that drive them apart with painful consequences. But one of them finds release, cleansing, and closure, and the possibility of forgiveness, through the creation of a poetic semi-autobiographical play with parallels to the classic tale.
Under the direction of Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, the compelling cast of four brings the personalities and feelings to life, led by Scott Brieden in the role of the present-day emerging playwright Echo. Brieden’s sensitive portrayal is filled with empathy, capturing the wide range of emotions he experiences, from his desire for a committed loving partner, not just casual hook-ups, to his hurt, fear, despondency, and hopelessness, to explosive anger and the need for vengeance, to his ability to move on and his ultimate reconciliation with the past and how it shaped his life and burgeoning career. It’s all registered in his voice, facial expressions, and body language, in the flashes of redness in his skin and the real tears that flow from his eyes, which make him consummately human, relatable, and lovable to the audience, if not to the hard-hearted egomaniacal Narcissus. Brieden also delivers some of the play’s funniest and most clever lines (including his repetition of the word “Something” when asked by the others to “say something” – just as the mythological Echo could only repeat what she hears).
Alton Alburo’s current Narcissus is the epitome of his namesake, a beautiful and desirable youth who rejects the pure love of Echo and is devoted only to himself. He flirts and teases, then leaves when he’s most needed, caring only about his own survival and pleasure, using his friends, insulting them behind their backs, lying and confronting them to their faces, ingesting vodka and drugs to excess, and enjoying innumerable sexual encounters, until it all catches up with him. The performance presents a masterful psychological study of a deeply troubled self-destructive narcissist, with believable episodes of intoxication that avoid over-the-top histrionics in favor of an insightful characterization of a tragically flawed personality.
Supporting the leads are Adin Lenahan and Hillary Wilson in multiple roles, each played with distinction and all key to the development of the plot. As longtime friends, they remain loyal to Narcissus to the end, despite his injurious behavior, and as the director and actress of the stage performance of Echo’s play, he remains as libertine as Narcissus, while she beautifully elevates the poetic language of the script. They are also given some amusing moments, in which Lenahan’s character explains the casting of Narcissus and Echo as male and female (which they are in Ovid’s ancient myth but not in the new gay version), as a tie-in to the relationship between Pop icon Andy Warhol and Superstar Edie Sedgwick, featured in an art exhibition in the building where Echo’s play is being presented, and in flashbacks in which Wilson assumes the speech pattern and demeanor of a ditzy high-school girl dating Narcissus, unaware of his closeted sexuality.
The narrative, told by the actors in casual contemporary clothes, in a black box theater on a bare stage, with just two movable chairs, a small table, and bottles of liquor, is enhanced with a haunting soundscape and original live music by Sam Kwietniak on electric guitar, and lighting by Lee Lillis that evokes the times of day and the stars above. Leana Gardella serves as fight and intimacy coordinator, both of which are integral to the understanding and development of the characters.
Thanks to The Tank’s commitment to the ongoing development of Brandon Monokian’s Echo and Narcissus Blast Third Eye Blind Outside a Diner in New Jersey at 2AM, audiences can appreciate the affecting cautionary tale, the excellent performances, and the efficient direction. It’s a smart and meaningful work that promises to have a life beyond this fine workshop production.
Running Time: Approximately 80 minutes, without intermission.
Echo and Narcissus Blast Third Eye Blind Outside a Diner in New Jersey at 2AM plays through Saturday, July 6, 2024, at The Tank, 312 West 36th Street, 1st floor, NYC. For tickets (priced at $15-35, plus fees), go online. All attendees and artists are required to be vaccinated for Covid-19 and patrons must wear masks when not eating or drinking.
