Right on Queue

Line symbolizes the competitive nature of life.

by Mark Cofta

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Published: Apr 29, 2008

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I'm always pleased to see a neglected gem revived, like Israel Horovitz's Line, the 1967 absurdist comedy that launched a prolific career — even though Horovitz might be best-known today for siring Beastie Boy son Adam.

Line, presented by Luna Theater Co., still plays well, though the premise may sound collegiately naïve today (or maybe that's just me, recalling how I fell for Horovitz's gritty mixture of sex, violence and comedy as a freshman many moons ago). In director Gregory Scott Campbell's smart production, a body supine on a bleak bare stage rises before the houselights dim. He eats a banana, he sings, he waits. Finally, another man enters, asking, "Is this a line?"

Yes, in several ways: There's a white stretch of tape on the floor, but now with two people (and three more arriving soon); we have a queue, a line defined by people waiting — for what, we don't know. The situation becomes a competition for first place, which all five hold at one point or another, jostling each other out with trickery, schemes, sex, even chaotic brute force.

OK, the line symbolizes competitive life, just like all the sex (all four men have Molly — or does she have all of them?) is realized through the reliable dancing metaphor. Old, perhaps, but still effective.

Luna's production honors Line by playing it straight: Chris Fluck, Mike Hagan, Bob Schmidt and hyperactive Nathaniel Robertson (as Stephen) create genuine characters, not puzzle pieces, no matter how abstract their struggle to control first place. Tina Brock ably takes the role of Molly, a wise last-minute replacement since her Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium excels at performing absurdist plays.

Line has run for 33 years off-off-Broadway, a testament to its psychological timelessness, even with its artsy-kitsch '60s feel. While Horovitz's recent hit Lebensraum is frequently produced (by Luna, last season), some brave company should resurrect The Indian Wants the Bronx, It's Called the Sugar Plum or Mackerel — there's a whole Fringe Festival of neglected plays in his considerable catalog.

(m_cofta@citypaper.net)

Line Through May 11, Luna Theater Co., Walnut Street Theatre Studio Five, 825 Walnut St., 866-811-4111, lunatheater.org

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