Youth culture
B Street opens This is Our Youth
It’s time to take a trip to Manhattan in the early 1980s. Ronald Reagan is president; television is at its best; nuclear war is the worry of the day, and the children of well-to-do baby boomers are coming of age—and it’s not pretty.
It’s a typical day in March, and the apartment belongs to Dennis Ziegler (Peter Humer), a smooth-talking (so he thinks) Tom Cruise-in-Risky-Business look-alike who—not content with the wealthy lifestyle his parents provide for him—makes money dealing drugs to all his friends. Dennis is just getting settled down from a fight with his girlfriend.
Enter Warren Straub (Andrew Benator), Dennis’ faithful, hero-worshiping sidekick. Warren is the stereotypical ‘80s “dork” character. He’s uncoordinated, accident-prone, not all that bright and willing to do anything to fit in—including take continued physical abuse and putdowns from his hero, Dennis.
But, in this production of playwright Kenneth Lonergan’s This is Our Youth, the sidekick is the principal character, and one Benator does a remarkable job at bringing to life. This sidekick is undergoing a transformation, and the ride’s going to be a wild one.
Joined by actress Dana Brooke as Jessica Goldman, Warren’s love interest, the cast of three deliver a solid and committed performance, adding a touch of realism and risk-taking lacking from most current theater productions.
Directed by Amy Resnick (still riding the success of her direction of the last B-Street production, The Affections of May), this production is a sharp turn in a different direction from recent shows presented by B Street.
Perhaps suited to a more open-minded audience, This is Our Youth is a disturbing, foul-mouthed, drug-filled presentation of an outstanding play that is another guaranteed hit for the B Street Theatre.
