FringeNYC 2013: Luke Nicholas

Review by David Koteles · August 9, 2013

No Hope Productions’ Luke Nicholas is a surprising piece of theatre. The play is a series of reveals that won’t be spoiled here, and, frankly, that leaves me little to write about. Except to say that it’s a play about artifice, revelations, point of view, relationships, sex, learning to be honest, strip clubs and theatre. I wish I could discuss the plot here, but I don’t want to give anything away in case you see it, and you really should.

Not to oversell it, but this is a smart piece of theatre wrapped in a frivolous “hot naked guys on stage” package. Indeed, the show’s poster is a close-up of a male stripper’s, uhm, let’s just say rear end to keep it family friendly. The show’s teaser reads, “Thomas is turning 40. His life and decade-long relationship are in shambles--all because of a hot young stripper he met in Montreal.” I must admit the poster and that description gave me low expectations going in. I had hoped to be entertained, but I certainly wasn’t expecting a good play. However, just to be clear, Luke Nicholas IS a good play.

The play begins with a series of played-out theatrical scenarios: a writer at his computer struggling to find the perfect words to explain how intoxicating a stranger from his past was, then he enters the scene and we witness the rather seedy pick up. During these opening scenes, the acting seems hesitant and the dialogue seems trite and forced. And then something happens and the play comes into focus, and it’s really rather fantastic and clever—but unfortunately I cannot tell you what that is or why it’s so skillful. What happens during this play is interesting and deftly executed. The show gets progressively richer with every scene, proving that writer and director Tim Aumiller and his talented cast know exactly what they’re doing, even if you do not. Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell you about the plot.

The cast includes Sean Hankinson, Colin Key and Jason Zeren, three handsome and talented men. Almost immediately, Zeren, as Luke Nicholas, strips to a jockstrap and performs on a stripper pole, which I guess is part of the story but feels a bit gratuitous, even after the curtain comes down. Then after this brief dance, everyone is stuck with a stripper pole in the middle of stage, which the actors clumsily navigate their scenes around. And I guess that’s all part of it, the pole’s ever presence is symbolic—it is in the way, it’s in their lives--but really, it’s just kind of an eyesore. Zeren does a good job at his athletic pole dance, and it’s choreographed by “Peekaboo Pointe,” who certainly sounds credible in this particular genre of dance. Still, I’m not sure the audience is demanding this kind of authenticity from the play. In the end, Luke Nicholas is an engaging and interesting play with memorable performances—and that’s the most pleasant surprise of the evening.