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Whether your politics are to the right of Donald Rumsfeld or far left of Cindy Sheehan, you may appreciate Aaron Kozak's The Birthday Boys
equally. In two acts spanning less than twenty-four hours, it portrays a
horrible experience that strengthens the bond between three Marine
grunts taken captive by Mahdi Militia in Iraq, one that teaches them
about fear, resilience, courage and honor at personal and monumental
levels. The performance draws the audience in so intimately, it's as if
they spend the twenty-four uncomfortable, frightening hours, too, bound
and blindfolded on the floor of an isolated warehouse, wondering when/
if death will come and in what form. Very easy to see how this play took
the 2010 LA Fringe Festival
by storm, winning the Fringe First Award for Best World Premiere and
the LA Fringe Critics' Choice Award. It's on its way to New York,
stopping off to celebrate Memorial Day weekend in limited run as the
inaugural stage production at the re-born, refurbished historic Texas Theatre in Dallas' vibrant Oak Cliff neighborhood. May 26-29. If you missed it here, catch it in New York.
How
would you handle being held hostage by terrorists? Every day a young
American service person spends in the Middle East, it has to lurk in the
back of his/her mind: what if I'm caught? How will I act? What will it
feel like? Will they torture me? Will I crack? Will anyone ever rescue
me? In this play's case, two Marines share birthdays as hostages (age 22
and 23), hence the play's title; the third Marine is age 28, considered
"old" by the other two. One of them speaks a smattering of bad high
school Spanish; none speak any Arabic tongue. 
Without
sounding like a John Wayne propaganda piece, Kozak's play defines the
characters of all three vividly as soldiers and as young people coping
with a very bad situation. Kozak embraces the technique of revealing his
characters through the stories they tell about other people. Most of
the time, there are only three actors on stage; but the play's reality
resonates with grandmothers who send foolish gifts and disapproving
fathers and devoted wives and tales of Mandy the mail clerk who "does
sex so well." The three main characters remain trussed up and
blindfolded throughout both acts (and lie inert on stage through
intermission). Yet, their performances crackle with physical energy and
suspense, humor and pathos, fear and anxiety. It proves the point that a
play doesn't require lots of hyper-activity and high dollar technical
gimmicks and effects to hold its audience's attention. It needs a solid
script with interesting characters, a strong director who understands
and respects the script's truths, and good actors. The Birthday Boys
possesses all three. The ensemble of James Ryen, Trevor St. John David
and Nando Betancur as the captured Marines play the fine balance between
the dark humor of the work and its underlying serious themes with ease
and elegance. As natural and realistic as their performances are, they
honor the well-defined artistic tempo and organic rhythms of the work
like a trio of classical musicians. 
Ali
Saam as the Mahdi militia leader interjects the cold-blooded terror of a
cat toying with a mouse to the play's ambience, playing a swaggering,
smirking, genteel sort of interrogator, one who feels no compunction
about shoving a rifle barrel into one Marine's mouth to get his
attention. Tension builds to a satisfying, intense climax. Unexpected,
to say the least, and one I won't spoil by sharing. See it for yourself.
Laughing and crying come easy with this script; get to know and care
about these young characters as they sort themselves out and find inner
strength they never dreamed they had. And brace yourself for the finale.
It's what makes those of us who adore live theatre feel addicted to it.
Kudos to the Texas Theatre for incorporating live theatre into their array of entertaining offerings. Surely the sound challenges that exist, muddying some of the play's dialogue, will find remedy by the next production.
The Birthday Boys is dedicated to Aaron Kozak's grandfather William Bonner, who won a Purple Heart in WWII, wounded in the Battle of Peleliu.
A history of the production:
In its southwest regional premiere, The Birthday Boys re-inaugurates The Texas Theatre as a live theatre venue May 26 through 29, 2011.
TICKETS AND INFO:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/175279
The Texas Theatre 231 W. Jefferson Blvd Oak Cliff, TX 75208 Box office: (214) 948-1546 Fax: (214) 948-1525
Photo by Brian Plummer: Nando Betancour, James Ryen, Trevor David
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