No one can ever accuse playwright Ellen Fairey of a lack of ambition with her comedy drama Support Group For Men. The play covers a lot of fertile ground — gender issues, masculinity amidst a changing landscape, even #MeToo briefly. Yet, despite some laughs, it’s only intermittently successful. Directed by Jeff Adler and running through May 28 at Horizon Theatre, it’s a work with sincere intentions, but too often, the play resorts to some underwritten characters and illogical plot devices.
It’s Chicago in 2017, and Brian (Louis Kyper) is hosting the titular Thursday meeting in his upstairs apartment, located near the border of Wrigleyville and Boystown. In the mix are three others — Delano (Marcus Hopkins-Turner), a Black friend from high school; Roger (Evan Bergman), whom Brian knows from softball; and Kevin (Sariel Toribio), a much younger man at the Apple store where Brian works. At 24, the Latinx Kevin — new to the group — is half the age of the other three and is much more progressive. He nonchalantly refers to experiences with both men and women.
The four have convened to talk about their professional and personal lives in a safe environment. The rules of the support group are pretty simple. No women are allowed and — as part of their ritualistic approach — they give themselves Native American nicknames, grab a talking stick in their hand and are free to talk with no interruptions. The others are present merely to bear witness.
Fairey has written plays such as Graceland and Girl 20 and produced series such as Nurse Jackie and Masters of Sex. Support Group For Men premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in 2018 and is now making regional rounds. This show was scheduled to run at Horizon in June of 2020 but was canceled because of Covid. What sounds like a Hallmark movie on paper thankfully has a lot more to it. Center stage here is the awkwardness these middle-class men have in opening up to each other and making friends, as well as understanding and adapting to a new generation. Poor Roger doesn’t even have a clue what cisgender means.
Something always seems to be happening underneath Brian’s second floor apartment, and the support group meeting comes to a standstill when an apparent assault takes place on the streets below. Officers Nowak (Brad Brinkley) and Caruso (Kelly Criss, alternating the role with Suehyla E. Young) show up with questions. Shortly after, the group’s path crosses with Alex (Roberto Mendez), whom they find in a bright red wig. (The character is described by Fairey as gender-ambiguous). His appearance is a jolt to the men, almost some mid-show deux ex machina. Roger, who lamented the pink color of the wine they are drinking, made a reference of someone as being light in the loafers and made other disparaging remarks throughout the evening, now finds himself literally face-to-face with someone that he cannot initially understand.
What happens subsequently has some memorable moments but also strains credibility. Eventually, the five men talk amongst themselves, get high and share secrets. Fairey scratches the surface of some really intriguing encounters here but never does a deep dive, opting for easy resolutions instead.
Adler has chosen a strong ensemble of local players. There are no bad performances; the actors all have their own moments. Even in a small role, Criss’ Caruso has a palpable, almost flirtatious interaction with Roger. Scenic designers Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay do an impressive job of Brian’s no-frills apartment — books, posters, sports memorabilia and photos here and there fill his home, alongside the requisite computer and flat-screen TV.
Unfortunately, many of the characters lack complexity. The center of the play seems to be Brian, yet he’s oddly the least interesting character of the bunch. On the surface, he’s full of positivity, but it seems there’s much under the surface that is not explored. He’s been friends with Delano since they were teenagers, but Delano has always been slightly bothered by something. Why that has never been addressed until now remains a mystery. Neither Delano nor Kevin have as much depth as they need, either.
The character of Alex is much sharper. There’s a lot of ambiguity to the altercation outside and a lot seems to be going on with Alex internally. The character one moment seems afraid for his life, dizzy and slipping while trying to walk, bruises all over his face, but he is proud and defiant and not willing to be a victim.
And Roger is by far the most intriguing person on the stage. Atlanta-based Bergman, as seen in the current Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, isn’t afraid to show the character’s ugly side. He is single and angry and has his own demons. His near obsession with all things gay or seemingly gay is very noticeable to the others. But his eventual transition doesn’t seem plausible. It feels too pat, too scripted, as does a final scene with another character changing his tune.
Adler stages the work briskly. At 90 minutes with no intermission, it breezes by and at times can be goofy and fun. To her credit, Fairey’s main objective is to make her audience laugh and think. Much of the time, Support Group for Men is very observant, with its central men trying to figure out a new world. Other times, though, with characters making abrupt U-turns, it can be something of a head scratcher.
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Jim Farmer covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival. He lives in Avondale Estates with his husband, Craig, and dog, Douglas.
