THE COMMON PURSUIT
June 12, 2012
An elite literary magazine is birthed in a Cambridge students’ messy quarters. The gang of aspiring poets and pundits convene to discuss the esoteric publication’s M.O. This being an intellectually erudite crowd, obscure references to poets, writers, philosophers, composers and psychoanalysts, pepper the text by Simon Gray. Baptized “The Common Pursuit,” the publication is Stuart’s (Josh Cooke) baby. Designated the Editor/Publisher, Stuart draws in the wealthy Martin (Jacob Fishel) to attract advertisers or just pour in the contents of his own wallet.
A handful of personalities cluster around the four-way love affair between Stuart, his girlfriend Marigold (Kristen Bush), Martin and the periodical.
The acting is mixed, compounded by thick-mouthed English accents.
Director Moises Kaufman, who can count many theatrical successes, delves into the individual vacancies rather than the inherent humanity. At one point, the philandering historian Peter Whetworth (Kieran Campion) forgets the curtain rods requested by his wife on the shelf in Stuart’s room. A sharp-eyed elderly man shouts out, “he forgot the curtain the rods!” --and that my friends got the biggest laugh of the evening.
EYE ON THE ARTS, NY -- Celia Ipiotis
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