The Silver Spring Penguin

Here are a few tips to surviving Leslie Kobylinksi’s new one-man play on director Elia Kazan.

First, read Kazan’s biography in the program. Get a grip on how he studied method acting with Lee Strasberg, dallied in communism, abandoned it to become an Oscar-winning director, and then sang like a bird in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

This information is vital to following playwright Kobylinski’s lyrical yet lifeless script. The monologue swirls Kazan’s life like cotton candy around a paper cone, but in the end, it’s all fluff.

It makes no attempt to explain Kazan’s motives for anything, like why he joined the Communist party, left it, and then defended it in front of Congress, only to submit to his inquisitors later on.

Kobylinski assumes that it’s enough for the audience to know that these things happened without context. What results is a drawn-out linear narrative, a long walk for a short drink.

Next survival tip: Arrive sober. Chemical substances only prolong the agony of having to watch actor Rick Foucheux’s monotonous performance.

It’s true that Foucheux (above) is burdened with a weak script, but he shows off handicaps that are distinctly his own. Foucheux’s emotional range swings from angry drunk to tearful drunk. His face expresses two states: maudlin and constipated.

He shrinks into a heavy wooden chair (the only furniture on the set), swallowed by a suit jacket too big for his shoulders. Whether this is intentional metaphor or just bad design isn’t clear.

Foucheux also could use some help with dialects. His portrayal of Kazan’s Greek parents takes its cue from the Kwik-E-Mart’s Apu (of “Simpsons” fame), and his effeminate Tennessee Williams drawl is equally cartoonish.

The final survival tip: Don’t bother. At $25 per seat, the money’s better spent on a movie, extra-large popcorn and Junior Mints at the Majestic.

“The Director: The Third Act of Elia Kazan”

Starring Rick Foucheux (Elia Kazan). Written and directed by Leslie Kobylinski. Performances run weekends through May 13, 2007, at the Round House Theatre (8641 Colesville Rd).

Photo by Danisha Crosby for the Round House Theatre.