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ponch22's review against another edition
4.0
Just found out the local community college was auditioning for [a:Eric Bogosian|378|Eric Bogosian|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1210950922p2/378.jpg]'s [b:Suburbia|840109|subUrbia|Eric Bogosian|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328031602s/840109.jpg|825663] so I picked up my copy to reread it to check if there's a role for me. To be fair, I probably am no longer able to play a 20-something, but when I shave I have a baby face and there's always dye for my grays... Honestly, I was only 90% sure I read it before, so I figured a quick read would help my annual reading challenge, so why not?
The play felt familiar, so I'm pretty sure this was my second reading of it. I have [b:The Essential Bogosian|200984|The Essential Bogosian Talk Radio / Drinking in America / Funhouse / Men Inside|Eric Bogosian|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924719s/200984.jpg|194462] which I'm pretty sure I haven't read, but at least I've read this twice now.
Set in the '90s, the play takes place over one evening at The Corner, a popular hangout behind a suburban 7-Eleven. A bunch of young twenty-somethings eat pizza, drink beer, smoke, and talk to each other while annoying Norman, the Pakistani owner/manager of the 7-Eleven, and his sister.
Tim is the oldest (and rudest) of the young adults; after a short stint in the Air Force, he's returned home with a very sexist & racist outlook on life. He spends most of his days drunk on The Corner yelling epithets at Norman while randomly sneaking up onto the roof.
Jeff and Sooze are your typical college couple—she's artistic and wants to move to NYC, while he's full of ideas and rants but seems too scared to leave home.
Buff is a big oaf who drinks more than he should and sings House of Pain while Bee-Bee is a friend of Sooze's who was sent to rehab by her parents for getting caught drinking underage. The two seem to have a quick hookup, but Buff moves along to someone else later that night.
Speaking of, this night is special because Pony, an old friend of the group, is returning home as he tours the country with his popular band. The group doesn't want to spend $20 a ticket to see his show, but they do wait for him to bring his limo to The Corner and tell them all of his fame and fortune.
The play is very Gen-X and I (mostly) enjoyed what happened throughout. The scenes were well-written, with a nice flow of exits and entrances that felt natural. I love any play that has just one location that doesn't feel forced (like they used one location to only save money). My biggest problem was the characters and their reactions.
Tim was truly an asshole, using every imaginable slur against Norman (except for any actual ones for Pakistanis) and Norman & his sister do react pretty believably to him. But I can't tell why anyone else is actually friends with this slightly older guy. He left for the military after high school, so it's not like he was just always around them. And I could totally see him in a MAGA hat, spouting off alt-right chants, but no one else here felt that crazy.
When Tim meets Pony's manager, Erica, he says some of the most demeaning stuff imaginable, and yet she has no reaction—she actually seems to like it and flirts with him! I can't imagine how someone could play Erica realistically—it's almost insulting to see how Bogosian writes her.
So other than one majorly flawed female character, and a few other unbelievable interactions/relationships, I mostly enjoyed this play. I'm not sure if the director found someone to play the role he was having difficulty filling or if I'll still be needed at auditions, but this is definitely a play I wish I had auditioned for ten years ago... I'm probably too far into my thirties for the show (especially with a bunch of actual college kids in the cast) and most of the guys in the cast kiss someone and one strips down to his underwear (or possibly further?) so we'll have to see... Glad I read it though. Maybe I'll actually get into The Essential Bogosian—I saw [b:Talk Radio|1393157|Talk Radio (TCG Edition)|Eric Bogosian|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1354209574s/1393157.jpg|3069798] on Broadway with Liev Schreiber and it would be nice to revisit that as well.
The play felt familiar, so I'm pretty sure this was my second reading of it. I have [b:The Essential Bogosian|200984|The Essential Bogosian Talk Radio / Drinking in America / Funhouse / Men Inside|Eric Bogosian|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924719s/200984.jpg|194462] which I'm pretty sure I haven't read, but at least I've read this twice now.
Set in the '90s, the play takes place over one evening at The Corner, a popular hangout behind a suburban 7-Eleven. A bunch of young twenty-somethings eat pizza, drink beer, smoke, and talk to each other while annoying Norman, the Pakistani owner/manager of the 7-Eleven, and his sister.
Tim is the oldest (and rudest) of the young adults; after a short stint in the Air Force, he's returned home with a very sexist & racist outlook on life. He spends most of his days drunk on The Corner yelling epithets at Norman while randomly sneaking up onto the roof.
Jeff and Sooze are your typical college couple—she's artistic and wants to move to NYC, while he's full of ideas and rants but seems too scared to leave home.
Buff is a big oaf who drinks more than he should and sings House of Pain while Bee-Bee is a friend of Sooze's who was sent to rehab by her parents for getting caught drinking underage. The two seem to have a quick hookup, but Buff moves along to someone else later that night.
Speaking of, this night is special because Pony, an old friend of the group, is returning home as he tours the country with his popular band. The group doesn't want to spend $20 a ticket to see his show, but they do wait for him to bring his limo to The Corner and tell them all of his fame and fortune.
The play is very Gen-X and I (mostly) enjoyed what happened throughout. The scenes were well-written, with a nice flow of exits and entrances that felt natural. I love any play that has just one location that doesn't feel forced (like they used one location to only save money). My biggest problem was the characters and their reactions.
Tim was truly an asshole, using every imaginable slur against Norman (except for any actual ones for Pakistanis) and Norman & his sister do react pretty believably to him. But I can't tell why anyone else is actually friends with this slightly older guy. He left for the military after high school, so it's not like he was just always around them. And I could totally see him in a MAGA hat, spouting off alt-right chants, but no one else here felt that crazy.
When Tim meets Pony's manager, Erica, he says some of the most demeaning stuff imaginable, and yet she has no reaction—she actually seems to like it and flirts with him! I can't imagine how someone could play Erica realistically—it's almost insulting to see how Bogosian writes her.
So other than one majorly flawed female character, and a few other unbelievable interactions/relationships, I mostly enjoyed this play. I'm not sure if the director found someone to play the role he was having difficulty filling or if I'll still be needed at auditions, but this is definitely a play I wish I had auditioned for ten years ago... I'm probably too far into my thirties for the show (especially with a bunch of actual college kids in the cast) and most of the guys in the cast kiss someone and one strips down to his underwear (or possibly further?) so we'll have to see... Glad I read it though. Maybe I'll actually get into The Essential Bogosian—I saw [b:Talk Radio|1393157|Talk Radio (TCG Edition)|Eric Bogosian|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1354209574s/1393157.jpg|3069798] on Broadway with Liev Schreiber and it would be nice to revisit that as well.
wesleyboy's review against another edition
2.0
Eh.
Sometimes, I read stuff that makes me think that in high school, I would’ve loved telling people how great it was. But reading it as an adult, it just leaves me feeling frustrated and irritated with all the characters.
What a bunch of whiny, first-world-problem-having people. Ugh.
And the weird death at the end feels tacked on and unimportant.
Sometimes, I read stuff that makes me think that in high school, I would’ve loved telling people how great it was. But reading it as an adult, it just leaves me feeling frustrated and irritated with all the characters.
What a bunch of whiny, first-world-problem-having people. Ugh.
And the weird death at the end feels tacked on and unimportant.
slsummerville's review against another edition
4.0
When I started off the play my first thought was "great, another angsty college aged student who says fuck every chance he can get." But by the end I was hooked. The play delves into our views of ourselves, the role of self esteem in our lives, the role of race in our lives. What happens when someone who is completely different from the cookie cutter American Dream family comes into the suburbs? And what do we really know about those outsiders? And why do so many suburban teenagers end up drinking and doing drugs? There is a lot going on in this play. It's one I'd love to see on the stage.
stevemcdede's review
3.0
I saw this movie years ago and didn't like it. I really enjoyed Talk Radio and wanted to like this, but I not sure what I should be looking for here.
st_leo's review
2.0
I feel like there's a lot of potential that was never fully explored in this play. Characters are vibrant, and the conflicts are fairly universal without being too bland that they could have had a much bigger impact. Bogosian doesn't seem to shy away from tension and release (and certainly, strong language), but they never quite hit the target; they merely feel wasted.
Overall, a very energetic piece, but seemingly without direction.
Overall, a very energetic piece, but seemingly without direction.
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