Foul Territory

by David Anthony Fox

With garage bands an accepted part of our culture, I suppose it's inevitable we must recognize the concept of garage theater. Once a realm meant solely for children's puppet shows and adoring parents, contemporary garage theater encourages professionals to indulge their personal fancies.

Philly playwright Bruce Graham and Philly actor Tom McCarthy are sports buffs. The Philly Fan is a 70-minute monologue that ambles along, crammed full of local names and old jokes, but lacking narrative thrust. (My companion predicted the ending 10 minutes into the show.) A conceit that has our Fan talking to imaginary people is inelegantly written and executed. McCarthy gives a one-note, Archie Bunker-ish performance, which to be fair is exactly what he is called upon to do. Joe Canuso's direction follows McCarthy from local bar to living room to stadium (though McCarthy doesn't always seem in the right place at the right time). Jorge Cousineau's projections provide much-needed visual interest.

I like the idea of a play about a rabid fan whose obsession with Philadelphia's various losing teams becomes a metaphor for the city's self-image. But The Philly Fan takes the easier route of simply wallowing in sports details.

So really, there's only one question for a critic to answer about this show: Does it make sense as part of a theater season? Specifically, is there anything here for someone other than a sports fan (or a Graham fan, or a McCarthy fan)?

The crowd at Sunday's matinee — clearly PFs themselves — laughed heartily. Personally, having found the trivia quiz in the program more mystifying than the math GRE, I sat glumly through the longest 70 minutes of my life.

Should you see The Philly Fan? I'll give you a little quiz of your own. 1) Do the words "Connie Mack Stadium" evoke instant tears of nostalgia? 2) Does the sentence "The '93 Phillies — did you ever see an uglier team than that?" leave you doubled over with laughter? If yes, The Philly Fan is for you.

For everybody else … well, the garage is there for a reason.

THE PHILLY FAN Through April 17, Theatre Exile at the Arcadia Stage at Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. Second St., 215-922-4462