THEATER: “There is Hope” @ 344 2nd Street

There Is Hope

A Stage Production By Steve Grogan

Words by Damon Horvat

Going to a play is always a memorable experience. Especially when the play is a director and/or author’s first outing. In this case, the author, director, and star are all the same man, Steve Grogan.

Small venues can definitely make a play more fun.  344 Storefront Gallery in downtown Troy is a small venue with lots of character. Upon approach, the venue seemed just like a small storefront. However, when I went to go through the main door, there was a sign directing us to use the side entrance, which led to a long and narrow hallway that was obviously converted to a hallway from an exterior gangway sometime in the last century. This was the first hint of character of the locale. When I arrived at the door, I was met by a very pleasant woman who cheerfully checked all of our tickets. A large gentleman clad in leather behind her seemed to be a bouncer, which brought a few questions to mind. He turned out to be another guest.

Before taking a seat in the kitchen, I had some time to look around the venue. It was deeper inside than external appearances made it seem. It was lovingly converted from an early 20th century laundromat by the couple that now owns the establishment. They informed me, excitedly, that this was the first play to take place at their establishment. The 344 Gallery has simple and quaint character that makes it very appealing. The gracious hosts only add to the ambience.

“There Is Hope” wasn’t a traditional play. It was what is known as a “stage reading.” In a stage reading, the actors have copies of the script available in their hands or nearby. It was obvious from the performances that these actors put in many hours of work on their lines. Several actors played multiple characters and concentrated on making each character that they played discernibly different, which can be quite challenging.

Steve Grogan played Kevin Seward, our main character. Kevin is something of a Walter Mittyesque character that serves as both protagonist and antagonist. He lives a lot in his own head and is fond of internal speeches. Stage newcomer Chelsea Riley played the female lead, Lucy Grossman. Lucy is a nurse, mother, and Kevin’s old flame. Carl Welden is Erwin Gleason, a bombastic and jovial individual who runs a social media group. Ovella Snow gave us Belinda Carlysle (a different spelling than the singer). Belinda is a friend to both Kevin and Erwin. She also seems to be Erwin’s “right-hand man” in his social group, although that is never specified. In addition to being Kevin’s friends, Erwin and Belinda are also confidantes of his who try to give him advice from different perspectives.

The story is centered around a fictional Albany club known simply as the Tower, a nine-floor nightclub where the group’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Party is being held. Kevin reluctantly attends after some good-natured cajoling from Erwin. This is where the production splits. We are presented with “current” views of the party and also flashbacks to Kevin and Lucy’s relationship, leading to its eventual demise. The catalyst for these flashbacks is Kevin finding out that Lucy is attending the party as well. The flashbacks are interspersed in between scenes set in the nine floors as he attempts to descend the Tower to avoid seeing his ex.

The Tower seems to be an allusion to Dante’s Inferno, with each floor being a different circle of Hell, and the sinners we encounter along the way become worse and worse. Kevin, as our “hero,” is desperately trying to escape from his personal Hell before he has to face judgment.

The highlight of the play was Chelsea Riley. She portrayed Lucy quite well, and was also the only actor to not use a script onstage. Her costumes changed believably between scenes, and all matched the tone of each of her scenes. Her energy and stance always matched the atmosphere. You believed her each time she was on stage. The main reason that we as the audience had to care for Kevin Seward was due to the depth of Chelsea’s performance as Lucy in how she acted towards Kevin.

A lot of credit also needs to be given to Aija Lieberman as Lucy’s son Pauly. Aija was very believable in their scenes, most notably in the scene where Pauly was sitting front stage, playing a video game as Kevin monologued, and essentially acted as a piece of living scenery, never once breaking character. Ovella Snow was a breath of fresh air in each of her scenes, delivering equal amounts of attitude, compassion, and good humor.

The most powerful scene was the breakup flashback. This was the only time in the production that Kevin seemed to have genuine emotions. It was heart-wrenching and moving.

Without spoiling the ending, there was a satisfactory conclusion, which reinforced the play’s primary message: ”There is hope.”

Truth be told, this was good as a freshman effort. I suspect that we may see more from Steve Grogan in the future. He seems like he has more that he wants to say.