Town Hall Arts Center production recalls a time when an AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence
The Last Session, currently on stage at Littleton’s Town Hall Arts Center, is a compact musical that encompasses many of life’s most challenging questions. With a passionate cast of five, The Last Session draws the audience in with such themes as love, religion and acceptance. Directed by Peter Dearth and written by Jim Brochu, Steve Schalchlin, John Bettis and Marie Cain, this production is an exceedingly powerful example of how a single moment in time can touch people in different ways, ending with a mutual understanding and acceptance of the differences that we all bring to the table.
The Last Session tells the story of Gideon (Brian Watson), a pop star — formerly a gospel singer — who is gay and dying of AIDS. He’s scheduled one final recording session before giving in to the dreaded disease by committing suicide. He has called together his old band to join him including Tryshia (Natalie Oliver-Atherton), a professional backup singer, and Vicki (Ali Chung), now a failed rock star who is making ends meet by selling Mary Kay Cosmetics. Overseeing the session is Jim (Damon Guerrasio), the studio engineer, who is manning the recording booth and is aware of what Gideon has planned for the next 24 hours.
On this evening, Buddy (Caleb Wenger), an ultra-religious gospel singer from Texas, has come to Los Angeles to meet Gideon and hopefully follow in his footsteps by moving from gospel music to pop. By chance, Buddy happily joins the recording session — having idolized Gideon his entire life. However, he is devastated to learn that Gideon is gay and has AIDS, as it goes against everything Buddy believes in.
Through a great deal of verbal sparring and intense introspection, there is a happy ending. The music advances the storyline and contributes to the overall thought of allowing everyone to live life as they see fit in accordance with their own beliefs.
The play centers around Gideon, played by Watson with a powerful intensity. After all, he is facing life and death, and Watson demonstrates the profound mix of emotions that come along with that sort of future at hand. Watson has a powerful singing voice that is showcased in several of the musical numbers — including “At Least I Know What’s Killing Me” and “Connected.”
Gideon’s background group consists of Oliver-Atherton as Tryshia and Chung as Vicki with both women giving strong, noteworthy performances. Oliver-Atherton comes across as the consummate singing professional and becomes deeply concerned when she learns of Gideon’s plan to end his life with her rendition of “The Singer and the Song,” which doesn’t leave a dry eye in the theatre. Chung delivers a highly comedic turn as Vicki with several matrimonial secrets up her sleeve and Mary Kay sales pitches to throw out.
Wenger, as fresh-faced Buddy, brings to the production a highly emotional character stirring the pot as the Bible-carrying gospel singer who derails the entire session when he learns of Gideon’s sexuality and self-inflicted death sentence. It is Buddy who must learn the art of acceptance, and Wenger makes a beautiful transition from beginning to end. His accomplished singing voice is heard throughout and is highlighted in two numbers with Gideon: “Going It Alone” and “When You Care.” The role of Jim is well played by the versatile Guerrasio, who also gets to show off his guitar-playing talent as he accompanies the group in several songs.
Peter Dearth has directed The Last Session with great attention to the script and its multiple playing levels. Several underlying themes are addressed in the script and Dearth gives them all the opportunity to be revealed and played out. A special shout-out goes to Joel Paszkowski, The Band Leader, who we never see, but continuously hear as the music director, conductor and keyboardist.
First performed in the 1990s, the play represents the time when a diagnosis of AIDS could still be a death sentence. Thankfully, today it is not. Now very much a period piece, The Last Session is a recounting of a time when there was less escape from the illness of AIDS with the thought of suicide on many minds of those who suffered. This production tackles the crisis head-on and does not shy away from the complexities of having AIDS and living within its ugly grip several decades ago.
With an exceptional mix of fine performances and stirring music, The Last Session is a powerful production that tells a gripping story that comes to a satisfying conclusion through powerful words and song.
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