Hollywood Fringe Festival Theatre Review: The Indian Wants the Bronx

City noises, whistling, and chatter from offstage are overheard while bewildered Gupta (Sean Burgos), not speaking a lick of English, wears a turban, holds a suitcase, and waits worriedly by a lonely telephone booth that serves as a New York City bus stop and his unwelcome introduction to the United States.  He’s a stranger to this dangerous, anonymous part of the Bronx, while contending with two young hoods.  At first, the aggressive kids dressed in jeans and oversized, woolly thrift store sweaters appear to be all bark and no bite.  They even have a Heathers’ moment when one pins down the other and forces him to say, “[Your mother] humps turkeys,” an ironic reference to their foster mom, who they disparagingly refer to as “Pussy Face” across their neighborhood and throughout the play.  The obnoxious hooligans are not the brightest bulbs, as Murp’s (Casey Adler) argument for the nationality of their new acquaintance: “Any jerk can see it’s a definite Turk,” because “Indians don’t wear fancy hats.”  Joey (Andre Stojka), no smarter, expects the man who so clearly cannot understand the Americans to follow every word he’s saying.  The boys oscillate between respectful and abusive, as one minute they’re breaking through communication barriers by teaching him how to say “thank you” and “you’re welcome,” and the next, they’re recreating the heart-pulling scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; absconding with a Polaroid of his son; or, well, much, much worse.  They have a primal perception of the world and engage in juvenile antics which includes a “spin game.”

Casey Adler, Andre Stojka

The play's language, as well as its tone is dated; the look and feel is of a New York City of yesterday.  The story plays with the audience almost as much as Gupta, as you know something horrible will probably happen, but you’re never fully convinced it will.  These kids are a couple of rats with lives going nowhere and completely open dance cards.  Fucking around with an innocent makes no more of a difference to them than kicking over a garbage can or helping an old lady cross the street (which they've probably done at least once in their lives with quite possibly ulterior motives).  With the source of their empathy and hatred coming from the same place, their random violence can turn on a dime and the delinquents have no idea the effect their actions have on others.  Their youthful ways of expressing frustration are emblematic of a rough, unsupervised upbringing having given them no other tools than a threatening, blunt form of physical manipulation.   

Sean Burgos

Of Mice and Men, it’s not always clear who is George and who is Lenny.  As Murph, Adler displays a rawness similar to Sean Penn, who looks and talks like he stepped out of Welcome Back, Kotter’s classroom.  And, he’s a spry little thing too, getting air underneath his feet like Brad Pitt’s Achilles slicing the neck of his opponent in Troy as Murph lodges a carefully executed noogie atop Joey's head.  Andre Stojka's performance isn’t as fully realized, but he provides a hefty sounding board for his partner.  Burgos is impressive in a role that is spoken mostly in an East Indian language.  

The angry kids finish The Indian Wants the Bronx as they started, singing “Baby, you don’t care” as they walk along the lonely streets of the spacious stage.  Israel Horovitz' play was originally produced in 1968 starring Al Pacino and John Cazale (who collaborated together a great deal in both theatre and film) and won several Obies, including Best Play.  It was also part of Steppenwolf's first season, directed by John Malkovich and starring Gary Sinise.  The last play I saw on the stage of the Stella Adler was Danny and the Deep Blue Sea from five years ago, which was equally dark and depressing.  There are much better things you can do with your time than watch an Indian man get taunted (and, not surprisingly, much, much worse) for an hour, but the playwright strives to make this anatomy of a beating express greater truths about the criminal mind and ignorance and director Tamiko Washington helps bring them alive with her capable cast.  Disturbing, at times, uncomfortable to watch, but engrossing, Bronx is part of the 2012 Hollywood Fringe and plays at 8 PM, June 15^th, 16^th, 22^nd, and 23^rd.  You can watch the well-produced, suspenseful trailer of the Actors Circle production here.  You can buy tickets for the show here.