Riveting. Intense. Gripping. Compelling. These are
comments you hear leaving the theatre after Geva’s current production of Other than Honorable, by playwright
Jamie Pachino. Jamie was inspired to write this play about sexual harassment in
the military after reading a Salon.com article about soldiers and the aftermath
of being attacked. She felt that the lack of justice they received, and the
ability (or inability) of these victims to move forward “desperately needed to
be dramatized.” (The creators of the documentary Invisible War were similarly, independently moved.)
Jamie is no stranger to the stage or to Geva – her Splitting Infinity premiered here in
2006. But she has been in Los Angeles for 14 years, so she is currently better
known for her work in feature films, TV movies, and TV series, such as Chicago PD. So it’s no surprise that
this new stage drama, having its premiere at Geva, is as fast-paced as a TV
show. Luckily, she doesn’t have to cram the entire plot into 48 minutes – the
drama unfolds over two hours, and we really get to know each of the characters
and watch them evolve. Jamie not only has a good sense for authentic dialogue
(I loved the real life talking over each other moments), but she’s creatively
mixed on-stage and video-taped actors, and keeps us on the edges of our seats
until the very end. She’s presenting a very tough, real, contemporary subject,
but has personalized it to give the audience a way to understand it in
less vague terms (although she still manages to hit us with some staggering
statistics, and I didn’t leave feeling optimistic that this play won’t still
resonate in 25 years…).
According to Mark Cuddy, Artistic Director, this has
been one of the most complicated Geva productions ever – not just because it’s
a new play, but because the scenic design is incredible (not in the “I’d like
to live there” way of the set of Guess
Who’s Coming to Dinner, but in the intricate double turntable system and
the backdrop of projection screens). The set movements definitely keeps pace
with the progression of the play, and I know I wasn’t the only audience member
to be exhausted for the actors by the end of the show!
For more information and tickets (through May 21), visit
www.gevatheatre.org
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