NONE OF THE ABOVE
Located in Theater Row, the Lion theatre is the home to an up and coming Off-Broadway production known as None of the Above. The play featuring Halley Feiffer (Jamie) and Adam Green (Clark) is an insightful look into the life of a spoiled socialite looking for the illusive 2400 on the SAT’s. One however, is left scratching his head wondering why this play focuses on such a particular issue that limits itself only to the teenage audience. The final product however, does an incredible job in its portrayal of the blemished teenager and her unsuspecting struggles.
The play begins in Jamie’s outlandishly pink room. Anxiously waiting for her drug dealer, Jamie is surprised when Clark begins to knock on her door. Clark is a grad student hired, by Jamie’s father, to tutor her for the SAT’s. Clark’s resumé proves to be an impressive one as all his past students received perfect scores on the exam. After an initial assessment, Clarke concludes that Jamie has potential to do well on this exam even though her knowledge of basic grammar and math are horrendous; he does however, notice that her knowledge of business is extraordinary. The audience is then given background on Jamie’s situation with her parents, her drug problems, and financial situation. The rich white teenage stereotype is greatly dispelled as Jamie proves that she’s as clever as any other New Yorker.
The play takes a turn as Clarke reveals his true reason for tutoring Jamie while also revealing to her his gambling problem. The next couple of scenes however are neglected of proper time as the play starts a mad rush to the finish line, like the ending of any Harry Potter movie. Key plot topics are introduced unexpectedly and thrown away just as fast as they were introduced. The acting also declines as the play progresses. Jamie loses her instinctive prowess and begins to act out of character, contrary to the role required by the script. One could almost think that Halley began to read from a script of a high school comedy. The play ended on a high note as Jamie, for once, proves to her parents that she is more than just a dumb spoiled teen as she winds up in Princeton and saves Clark from the grave he dug for himself.
The play seemed like a tale of two halves. The beginning seemed flawless and brought great expectation for the rest of the play. The second half disappointed but the attitude of the first half prolonged throughout the play. The music added an energetic pace and feeling to the play after every scene, with songs ranging from Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” to Feist’s “1 2 3 4”. Overall, the good outweighed the bad and this is a must see for any teen who knows of the pressures of the SAT and of life.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:22 pm
It is very disappointing when a show starts off strong but has a weak ending. They actually used Avril Lavigne’s song? So what was Clark’s true reason for tutoring Jamie? It’s good how they changed the rich girl stereotype to give the audience another non-Paris Hilton perspective. I like the name of the play, too.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Interesting how the performance changed negatively in the second part of the play. It is always so obvious when actors loose their energy and one can actually see them “acting”, instead of “being” a character and perform truthfully.The plot of the play sounds quite interesting though – something that we can all relate to. As Margaret already pointed out, the title is very catchy and certainly goes a long with the conflict of getting 2400 on the SAT.
November 1st, 2007 at 12:16 am
This is the play you kept raving about?
The plot seems very interesting but when you started talking about how it was lacking the second part, I lost interest.
If anything, if the play was reversed, meaning that the play started out bad and then had a flawless ending.
And man, I wish I got a 2400 on the SAT.
November 1st, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I still think its a must watch, especially if you go with a friend just b/c we can all relate to the subject matter. But it was a good play and though the acting was somewhat shady, the good outweighed the bad. And go to Broadwaybox.com for all you cheap theater ticket needs
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
Good review man, and yea to answer your comment it definitely helps when the theater is smaller because you just feel more connected to the play itself. It also helps going with someone because you have more fun that way!
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I thought you summarized the play pretty well and I thought you expressed your criticisms of the play very convincingly and clearly. Awesome review.