MAN BOOBS

reviewed by Nicholas Linnehan · July 20, 2010

Man Boobs, written by J. Julian Christopher, explores such important issues as self-esteem, self-image, and self-perception. In this new play, Christopher draws his audience in with wit, bawdiness, and unnerving truth. I was thoroughly engaged in this dark comedy about one man's journey to self-acceptance.

The play opens with Spence and Marty, a gay couple caught in the thralls of passion. After coming home from a night on the town, it is obvious that Marty wants nothing more than to have sex with his new lover Spence. Marty tries various tactics to get Spence into bed, but Spence keeps on stalling. We eventually discover the real reason behind Spence's reluctance is his poor image of himself.

At first, I was caught off guard by the blatant sexual language that Christopher uses to introduce us to his characters. I was afraid that I was in for a mere evening of gay bluntness and sexual innuendo, but I was pleasantly surprised when the play started to delve deeper into the psyches of the men. Spence, played by Jeffrey Marx, starts off with verbal charm, but then unravels and we see his insecurity due to his obesity. Marx plays his character with unbridled honesty and sincerity. Although Marx could stand to slow down his line delivery, his performance is nonetheless captivating. He captures Spence's essence brilliantly and knows how to deliver on stage. Equally impressive is Robert Valin as Marty. Valin can both play the horny macho man-turned-savage as well as the guy longing for meaningful relationships. This is a credit to his talent. Both actors drew me in from the beginning and left me in such a state of identification that I was lost in thought for a good hour following the show.

What makes this play so refreshing is that it portrays ordinary men with extraordinary desires. All too often, we are subjected to gay plays and shows, such as Queer as Folk, that paint their stories with men that are physically attractive and stereotypically beautiful. But Christopher gives us real men that we can relate to. This makes these characters even more beautiful and appealing to watch.

Director Web Begole understands his story well and the important issues it raises. His direction is simple, allowing the actors to inhabit their characters and flesh out their roles. I was moved to tears at different points in the story, which is a credit to the director and his cast. It may sound cliche, but I laughed and cried at this show.

Man Boobs is a provocative play that entertains and makes its audience feel. No doubt Christopher will continue to do the same in his future works.

MAN BOOBS

reviewed by Jed Ryan

As Ms. Aguilera sang, “You are beautiful in every single way.  Yes, words can't bring you down, oh no!“
          Beauty (internal and external), as well as the way we see ourselves, plays a big role in J. Julian Christopher‘s“Man Boobs”.Web Begole, “Man Boobs” opens with two big, beary guys-- Marty and Spence-- ostensibly coming home to Spence’s apartment for a night of carnal man-to-man sex. Marty (Robert Valin) is a hot-to-trot, rough-talking truck driver who loves to share stories about his sexual adventures at highway rest stops-- the fantasies from which those vintage Joe Gage porn flicks were made. (Twenty guys in between two trucks? Whoa! Where‘s my invite?) Marty is also probably smarter and more sensitive than he presents himself to be. Librarian Spence (Jeffrey Marx) is more reserved, more tightly wound, and possibly more comfortable with books than with people. We learn that “The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka, is one of his favorites. We also learn that Marty and Spence have hooked up in the past-- but the differences in their personalities is about as vast as can be. Those differences make for a lot of the humor in the first half of “Man Boobs“. Marty wants Spence in a “so-bad-it-hurts” sorta way. Spence, while craving companionship, is clearly holding back physically and emotionally. Why? As many of the audience members anticipate the answer to “Will they or won’t they?!”, that recurrent phenomenon of body image raises its head. That, in turn, leads to more serious and more deeply-engrained issues which explode from one of the two men like an unattended pressure cooker. The effect on the theater attendees is clearly palpable; at some points during the emotional climax of “Man Boobs”, not a single sound could be heard from the audience.

     Both actors deliver superb performances. As the unapologetically coarse trucker Marty, bedroom-eyed Robert Valin delivers most of the play’s funniest lines, and has the more zesty role in the first half. (A crowd-pleasing highlight is seeing Valin, clad only in a jockstrap, sprawled out on the bed reading “Metamorphosis” with tongue clearly in cheek.) As “Man Boobs“ segues from comedy to deep drama, Jeffrey Marx as Spence takes the center stage-- and his emotionally naked performance is sometimes painfully difficult to watch. To put it another way, both actors have their unique moment in the spotlight. It is always a challenge to create a two-character play and keep it from becoming static or “stagey“-- but “Man Boobs” succeeds in maintaining its momentum throughout. Indeed, serious themes are explored in this play, but the funny moments prevent the piece from ever becoming too overwhelmingly heavy. It’s a credit to the playwright, the director, and the actors that humor and tragedy-colored drama can exist side by side… to the level that the playwright can insert a comedic one-liner right in the middle of a highly dramatic scene and make it work. Overall, “Man Boobs” packs a wallop.