Catch Guild Hall’s Latest Production Before it Falls Into Extinction

Guild Hall and Where Are They Going Theatre Company in association with Barefoot Theatre Company had their opening night performance of Extinction by Gabe McKinley on Saturday, April 1st, and it proved to be a riveting night of theater: intoxicating and deeply disturbing.

Set in the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, this contemporary two-act play tackles some tough issues: recreational drugs use, gambling, and prostitution. Extinction is a play about survival, and what people have to do to make it through the night and through their lives, after they've been dealt a losing hand.

The artistic decision to place the seats on the stage itself, in an intimate theater-in-the round setting, was a stroke of pure genius. Being so close to the action, literally sitting in the hotel rooms, makes the audience squirm in their seats, feeling like voyeurs witnessing a long night of debauchery and harsh revelations. I have to admit that there were moments when I just had to look away, but I was quickly drawn back into the action unable to resist watching this emotional train wreck as it unfolded right before my eyes.

The first act feels like a two-character, one-act play in the bromance genre reminiscent of The Hangover trilogy movie franchise. Finn, played convincingly and charismatically by Sawyer Spielberg, is a graduate student trying to evolve and grow by leaving behind his partying and womanizing days. His old college buddy, Max, brilliantly played by, Eric Svendsen, a pharmaceutical salesman and illicit drug user, just won't take no for an answer and systematically tries to breakdown his friend’s newfound willpower and desire to become a better man. Max is convinced that men are just animals hardwired to cheat. Mr. Svendsen high energy, and I do mean “high” energy fueled by too much booze and blow, keeps the play racing forward like a high-speed car chase that will inevitably lead to one hell of a crash and burn scene.

The chemistry between Spielberg and Svendsen is electrifying and leaves you feeling as if you’ve just watched two prizefighters go nine rounds. Kudos to Dan Renkin, the Fight Director, for his skill at making the fight scenes appear painfully realistic, and for keeping the violence contained so that it didn't spill over onto the audience seated just a heartbeat away.

The innovative set, designed by one of the actors, Raye Levine, works perfectly, since the open-walled structure allows the audience to peer into the adjourning hotel rooms simultaneously. Director, Josh Gladstone, does an incredible job of moving the players around the stage in a psychological game of cat and mouse.

The second act completes this tight-knit ensemble with the introduction of the two female leads. Missy (Brynne Kraynak) is a mom, casino-industry working girl, and part-time call girl. She makes her grand entrance clad only in a towel, shocking both Finn and the audience. Her playful, coy, and flirtatious ways makes her a sympathetic and likable character. Ms. Kraynak is very believable in her portrayal of a young woman who could have easily continued being that sweet girl next door had life and circumstances not pushed her to the brink. She laughingly insists that she’s not a whore. “I'm just poor.” Missy, like the Mayflower Madame, instructs her down-and-out friend, Victoria (Raye Levine), a virgin to turning tricks, on the in and outs of the oldest profession. Ms. Levine’s body language speaks volumes as she reluctantly tries to maneuver her way through the unknown and terrifying territory of selling her soul for money. Ms. Levine has a great command of the stage and showed a great range of emotion in this painful-to-watch role.

The play runs through April 16, Wednesdays – Sundays at 7pm, and there are 2pm matinees on April 8 and April 15. Just notate that this play does include some pretty graphic language and mature subject matter.

You can purchase tickets at http://GuildHall.org; via phone at 631.324.4050; or http://Theatermania.com; or 1.866.811.4111. General Admission is $25 ($23 Members); $15 Students under 18.

The John Drew Theater in the Dina Merrill Pavilion at Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street, East Hampton, New York 11937.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright and author of Grant Me a Higher Love and Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships. She has a BFA in theater from the University of Connecticut. This summer, August 5th and 6th, Tomorrow’s Classics Theatre Company is producing, at the BAACA Arts Center in Lindenhurst, her full-length play, Beethoven’s Promethean Concerto in C Minor, a theatrical tribute to the man, the myth, the music. www.grantmeahigherlove.com.