A Review of "The Octopus"

By Peyton Carper on March 20, 2016

 

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If you’re searching for a vaguely farcical tale of mobster rivalry and revenge, look no further than Nathan Dennis’ The Octopus.

March 18 marked the opening night of the play written by recent NYU Tisch Department of Drama grad and emerging playwright Nathan Dennis and directed by FSU student Charlie Vancini. The play will run until March 20 at The Plant Community Center, and tells the story of an eminent Sicilian mob family facing the murder of their leader. The boss’ son and brother hatch a plan of revenge, which takes several turns throughout the show.

Director Charlie Vancini and playwright Nathan Dennis. Image via Facebook

The mob boss’ son, Calogero, is a nervous young man set to take over the family business, under the guidance of his uncle, Pippo. Pippo serves as the makeshift voice of reason, except during his occasional fits of anger, usually directed at the perpetually intoxicated Admiral. They spend the course of the show under the care of Valentina, the proprietor of a winery that serves as a front for the mob’s operations. Nunzio, the boss of a rival mob and a sexually charged charmer, makes his appearance in the second act of the play.

The cast of this show, comprised of FSU School of Theatre students, is a small collection of characters who do not seem to be experiencing the same story; Rusty Griffin’s Calogero is constantly frazzled and unsure how to proceed, a witness to the outlandish fights that occur between the remaining three male characters. Fighting, both verbal and physical, is a constant theme in the show, most often in the form of outlandish shouting and flailing around the small space. The drunken Admiral, played by Justin Butler, demonstrates his drunkenness by shouting comically throughout the show. Edward Bonahue’s Pippo constantly advises Calogero in ways to stay safe but involved in the action, yet becomes uncharacteristically brash when he is costumed as Poseidon later in the play. Erin McNellis’ Valentina is a stereotypical but independent Sicilian woman, until the end of the play, when she very suddenly develops a romantic interest in another character that was previously absent.

Several characters brandished strong Italian accents throughout the play, yet were inconsistent in intensity and dialect. The energy of the characters also wavered, dropping to an all time low at the end of the piece, save for Maxim Yodzis’ Nunzio, who entered the scene not long before. Because of this massive difference in enthusiasm, the ending that is meant to be jarring and intense is instead phoned in by most of the characters and overdone by others.

The treatment of the play’s two female characters is rather disappointing. Valentina begins the play as a strong and independent character whose “don’t mess with me” attitude is swept under the rug very suddenly at the end of the play in order to fawn over a male character. The Admiral’s wife June (portrayed by Claire Fleitz) is generally manic and absurd, used only as a plot device to carry the energy-lacking ending scenes.

For what the play was, it was well performed; despite its introduction as such, this was not a serious piece, and the humor in the piece was clever at times and simply basic humor at others. While there were humorous aspects of the play that were misplaced or simply didn’t make sense, they didn’t detract excessively from the piece. Its ending was dramatic in nature, providing a significant twist that, while cliche, was unexpected.

The Octopus is not a groundbreaking play. It does not require much thought from the audience, but has a few spicy scenes that make it worth your consideration.

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