The digital magazine of New York indie theater
Loading

Hit

nytheatre.com review by Alyssa Simon
August 15, 2005

American popular culture is known throughout the world for its icons. The Cowboy, the Action Hero, the Blonde Bombshell—all have their place in the lexicon. It seems, however, that the most popular of them all lately is the Gangster. Whether it's Tony Soprano revealing his feminine side in therapy or writers using gangster characters to make statements about the American Dream and capitalism, "made men" have found their way into mainstream entertainment and are romanticized as secretly sensitive and even noble.Shannon Weaver, of A Chick & a Dude Productions out of Austin, Texas, has written and stars in such a production called Hit. There is a welcome twist though. Although the characters are funny and do have endearing qualities, their lives are not glamorized. In this case, "hit" is not only a verb as in "to whack," but also a noun to describe a person who does the hit. Weaver's character Asher, is a hit man who was rescued as a boy by two other hit men, Wyatt, played by Joel Citty, and Ervin, played by Ken Bradley.Wyatt and Ervin take young Asher to raise as their own after they finish their assignment of killing a man, a man who is Asher's terribly abusive stepfather. We see through a series of flashbacks how they teach the boy their trade. They give him a set of rules to remember ("two shots to the head, get in, do your job, get out," etc.); teach him strategy through chess; and scold him for trying to sneak a beer or use foul language. In the funniest and ultimately most disturbing part of the show, Wyatt and Ervin stay up late worrying about Asher, who has gone out on his first job assignment. The two behave like it's the kid's first date and you realize, despite the laughs, how terribly warped all their lives are.Director Melissa Livingston has done a fine job of creating tight and crisp scenes, and the dialogue crackles. The three actors fully inhabit their characters and fill every moment. There is very little empty space between cues and given the Mamet-esque dialogue, that's how it should be. This may be because so much has been written about men in organized crime, but it took me out of the story somewhat when I recognized so many bits from other gangster movies I have seen. However, the ending is a surprise that you don't see coming, and the acting, especially Ken Bradley and Joel Citty as Ervin and Wyatt, make this show more than worth your while to attend.