The
Dying Gaul
by Craig Lucas
Set in Los Angeles, The Dying Gaul centers around Robert, a struggling playwright
who has recently lost his lover, Malcolm, to a long and grueling battle with
AIDS. Robert subsequently writes a screenplay about his experience. Jeffrey,
a high-powered movie mogul, wants to turn the screenplay into a movie on the
condition that Robert change one of the main characters into a female, making
it a heterosexual romance. Robert not only "gives in", betraying
himself and his beliefs; he also has an affair with the married movie executive.
All the while, Robert is trying to work through his loss with a somewhat ineffective
therapist, Foss. Jeffrey's wife, Elaine, soon finds out what's going on and
endeavors to find out more about Robert. She begins talking with him in an
on-line chat room where she eventually poses as his dead lover. Relationships
become entangled and tension builds throughout the play as the characters
come to terms with their inner demons.
In an interview about his play, Craig
Lucas made the following comment:
"Where did so many of us learn to believe that the victims of terrible
loss are ennobled by their suffering? My lover, my best friend, my mother,
my father-in-law, and another several dozen friends, ex-lovers and colleagues,
all died rather horrible deaths in rapid succession, and I did not find myself
ascending into a compassionate place, but instead a significantly meaner and
less generous one."
In case you're curious about the title, The Dying Gaul (which is also
the name of the screenplay written by Robert) refers to the Greek statue of
the same title of a vanquished soldier found at Pergamum. Robert explains
to Jeffrey that he sees it as having special meaning to the many gay men that
have died in their youth. Could it also be a reference to Jeffrey asking Robert
to "vanquish" his gay characters, therefore "vanquishing"
or compromising his core beliefs about the screenplay?
COMPANY MEMBERS
Director: Jennifer Fletcher
Scenic and Costume Design: Delores Ringer
Sound Designs: Jennifer Fletcher and Samantha Raines
Voice and Dialect Coach: Paul Meier
CAST
Robert: Matt Greer
Jeffrey: Phillip Vocasek
Elaine: Adrienne Lamping
Foss: Evan C. Grosshans
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