Remarkably prescient, it predicted not only the course of genetic engineering, but it's impact too.
Written only a few years before the Human Genome Project and cloning experiments began bearing fruit, Jonathan Tolins' 1993 play "The Twilight Of The Golds" follows the upheaval experienced by a prosperous East Coast Jewish family that is almost, but not quite a cliché. Patriarch Walter is a conservative financier; his wife Phyllis is aging ungracefully, but hasn't yet dyed her hair blue. Privileged daughter Suzanne is living the good life married to Dr. Rob Stein, a genetic researcher, and a condescending but deep affection is lavishly smothered on prodigal son David Gold, the gay opera fanatic on the verge of penury.
Family life is loose but strong, with only the usual dysfunctions - a secret kept here, an unspoken opinion there. All joyously praise Suzanne's unexpected pregnancy, until father Rob suggests a test at the research institute he works for. So the first act ends, with Rob announcing the unpleasant facts - the genetic profile of the baby has all the identified indicators of a homosexual male.
What happens next is a stew of ignorance, uncertainty and latent prejudice, slow-simmered in a broth of undefined fear. The question of the termination of the baby is raised, first between Suzanne and Rob, then with the parents. When the news reaches David, the family disintegrates as David makes the personal political and concludes - with little evidence - that he too would have been terminated if the technology had been available to his parents. His mother's denials are contradicted as his father's latent contempt finds expression. Under the cunning direction of Ray Bradford, the Gold family plumbs the depths of quiet desperation, wondering how the values they shared could disappear so suddenly, in a fight where the intensity is masked by the vestigial remains of politeness and lost bonds. Family secrets left and right are ruthlessly revealed as the foundations of their world collapse. In the end, they don't know each other anymore.
The great thing about this play is the outstanding performance by Mark Hagen, finding in David the best role I've ever seen him in. David makes the connection between his family and Richard Wagner, the deformed little man who not only created great music, but predicted the end of a decadent and corrupt world led by distant gods, to be replaced by an uncertain and uncharted new age of enlightened men seeking their own destinies. Hagen's enthusiasm for both the music and the message are real, and he effortlessly draws the audience into the world of a character you can't really feel a lot of sympathy for but also can't take your eyes off of.
Carrie Williams and Brian Richards as Suzanne and Rob are well matched as the couple facing an unexpected crisis, and the weaknesses exposed in their marriage are a credit to the acting skills that made their union convincing in the first place. Cynthia Paplaczyk simply morphs into her role as Phyllis - her confrontation with Dave is a heartbreaking vision of maternal love struggling with issues beyond its depth. Very effective is Alan Wallisch as Walter, an Odin who discovers that Valhalla has now been subdivided into condos as he tries to exert a fatherly authority that just isn't there anymore. Besides the individual performances, the dynamics between everybody on stage are extraordinary, a marvelous display of ensemble acting.
The play isn't perfect - soliloquies given directly to the audience break convention at points, leading to confusion, and the first act has some deadly slow moments, but overall, it's a stunning work, raising some very uncomfortable issues made all too real by the intimate impact it has on a very recognizable family.
Presented by R.S.V.P. Productions, "The Twilight Of The Golds" plays at the brand new and quite comfortable performing space at 703 S. 2nd St. in Walker's Point through June 26.
Call (414) 272-5694 for tickets.
