TOPDOG/UNDERDOG

I have to admit that I had second thoughts about attending the opening of Topdog/Underdog at the Pasadena Playhouse earlier this week because I had seen the Pulitzer Prize-winning play two decades ago at the Mark Taper Forum, and remembered it being depressing. (I had forgotten about all the comedy in it.) But I love the Playhouse so much that I never want to miss anything there! I’m glad that admiration drew me in because the actors are wonderful!

I also have to admit that I’m not deep enough to understand the message of this play, but I can tell you that the journey is very entertaining, and the performances of the two Brandons, (Gill and Micheal Hall, about whom I have a charming personal story, of course,) are a joy to behold. Seriously, these guys are perfect!

I’m leaving it to others to discuss the societal impact. I’m not doing a book report for school, which is a positive for everyone reading this review because I sucked at them. I’ve never been good with hidden meanings.

And I’m a theatre critic, not a college professor, so I’m assessing what I saw on the stage, and that is magnificent! Brandon Gill and Brandon Micheal Hall, (note his different spelling of “Michael,”) are so excellent that I can not imagine anyone else ever playing these complicated brothers!

Topdog/Underdog is a tale of the shaky relationship and history of two down-and-out thirty-something brothers. The older one, Lincoln, has retired from being a three-card monte con man, and Booth, the five-year-younger one, is trying to follow in his shady footsteps now. Knowing the year and the city in which this takes place would be helpful, but it’s really of no major import. (The play was first produced in 2001, but the bros don’t even have a landline, nor, actually, a bathroom or running water, so my friend and I couldn’t figure it out. My later research showed me the writer intended it that way.) If I was doing that book report, I would say something about the significance of their names, while the friend with whom I saw the show mentioned something about the house always winning. But that’s as heavy as I get.

Despite the seriousness of their situation, Topdog/Underdog is filled with comedy, especially lots of physical comedy, which the Brandons execute perfectly. They are both totally committed to every second of their characters’ lives.

At different points, they both have to run the card con right in front of our eyes, which means they had to become expert at it. That is not an easy thing to do, but they were aided in that endeavor by “Card Consultant” Whit “Pop” Haydn, a magician I’ve enjoyed in a few Millennium Magic shows in recent years. I watched a bit of what the Brandons did on stage through my binoculars, and they showed the right card each time, after doing the usual mixing them up. And they never missed. (That I saw, anyway.) It’s an incredibly hard task to act, remember all the technical card con lingo, and do three-card monte repeatedly, while always winning the game! Just to see them do that is worth the price of admission!

The action in this play could not be tighter, for which I must laud Director Gregg T. Daniel along with the two actors. There are never any lapses.

That being said, though, the script itself would definitely benefit from a bit of a trim; some of the dialogue gets too repetitive. I don’t know if the playwright would ever allow anything to be cut from it, but it would behoove future productions of the play to at least try to shorten it somewhat.

But something that absolutely should not be cut is a physical bit about shoplifting, which is one of the absolute highlights of the show. It elicited major laughs from everyone I saw it with, including my friend and me. However, the two of us still cringed a little because of how extreme and unpunishable that offense has become today, especially here in L.A.

The purposely-depressing basement apartment set by Tesshi Nakagawa, (my fellow UCLA-goer, which always makes me happy,) was spot-on. (During my year at one of my four colleges, I lived in a third floor walk-up tenement, with no shower, only a tub, and let me tell you—I felt the pain of Nakagawa’s set!) The stage is high enough that I feel that every patron will be able to see over the tall people in front of them, with no difficulty. But I had a bit of an issue with the lighting. Even though I know it needs to be darker occasionally to show the time of day, that makes it so hard to see what’s happening on the stage, especially in the second half.

As much as I hated the ending, at least it was quick, which was good because I could not wait to jump up and give those great actors their very deserved standing ovation!

So after the ultimate seriousness of the play, the entire evening turned-out to be a very upbeat event, which it usually is at the Pasadena Playhouse. Everyone mingled happily on the patio before and after the show, the party featured lots of beverages along with a curly fry truck outside and a churro one inside the adjacent eatery, and I spied two of my favorite stars from popular TV shows! And they were both so nice and grateful when I told them I love their work! First up was William Stanford Davis who plays the curmudgeonly janitor on Abbott Elementary; he actually tapped his heart as we were chatting to show me how much he appreciated my words. And I was thrilled to tell lovely Vella Lovell, who plays the boss on Animal Control, how much I love her and the show, which is one of the absolute funniest sitcoms around! (If you haven’t seen it yet, you must start right now!)

But, at the party, I really had eyes for mainly Brandon Micheal Hall, one of the two stars of Topdog/Underdog. We had met at a charity event a little over seven years ago, and I had a pic of us from back then at the ready. Believe it or not, I’m usually too shy to approach famous people, even when I admire their work, and especially on a big occasion for them, when I always assume that they just want to share the love with their own pals. But I worked-up the courage, and stepped-up to him with two of his pals, and said, “Would you like to see us in our youth?” He said a curious yes, of course, and when I showed them the pic, all three laughed and said words to the effect of, “Day-um!” He told me he remembers meeting me, I’m guessing because he was alone at the event, and I helped him get settled in. (I had just watched his new sitcom at the time, The Mayor, for the first time that very day, which was a year or so before his hit, God Friended Me, would be on TV.)

So, of course, we had to take new and improved pix together right then. And Brandon is the one who did the actual snapping of the shots! He’s as darling now as his younger, just-starting-out-in-the-biz self was. That new encounter made the whole night even more special for me. Let me tell you, I left the premises with a fresh glow.

Speaking of special, I have to finish-up with some words about the Pasadena Playhouse. In a few weeks, the venerable theatre is going to turn one hundred years old! That alone is the reason to see their shows. The man who did the pre-curtain greeting told us that it was the first time that people have been in the theater since the recent devastating wildfires. I had been thinking about that on the way there, but his speech made it especially real.

Lastly, here’s a fun tip for the next time you’re in the Playhouse, (which I hope is the next few weeks to see Topdog/Underdog.) Please notice that there is so much space between the rows. When someone walks into your row to go past you after you’re already seated, you do not have to get up nor even move your legs that much to let them pass! I love that.

And I loved this production of Topdog/Underdog. You have only until March 23rd to see it, which I suggest you do!

Topdog/Underdog running through March 23, 2025
Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena
626-356-7529 www.pasadenaplayhouse.org