In ‘Jeremiah,’ a look at guns and masculinity

Benchmark Theatre world premiere of Tami Canady’s play hits hard on a sore

Benchmark Theatre’s world premiere of Colorado playwright Tami Canady’s Jeremiah examines how the value that gun owners (predominately male) place on their firearms is an expression of their self-perception as well as how their social environment perceives them. This four-man play delivers its points with a sense of street smarts and witty banter, leaving a sense of “what can be done?” in its wake.

The play opens with a dark stage except for a string of newscasts displayed on the stage floor. These videos relay data on the number of gun violence incidents in the United States, setting the stage for what is to come. Jeremiah (Kaden Hinkle) is quietly feeding his pigeon friends in an alley when his brother Mitchell (James Giordano) arrives. The alley is their obvious hangout and is near the diner their father owns.

Mitchell has broken into a van and stolen a gun. Giddy, he gleefully shares the story of the crime and then shows Jeremiah the gun. Their back-and-forth banter flows naturally, like it would for any two brothers 10 months apart. Mitchell is excited at the possibilities that gun possession will present in his social life. He’ll be able to “talk to anyone” and he’ll “have respect.”

Jeremiah is less than thrilled.

Kaden Hinkle | Photo: McLeod9 Creative

Solid direction from Kate Poling shows in the character portrayals. Hinkle’s Jeremiah provides levity to the sibling relationship. During their conversations, it’s revealed that their mother has left and their father is angry. Hinkle does a good job showing the internalization of Jeremiah’s confusion and sadness at this departure, finding solace in his birds. Mitchell, played intensely by Giordano, deals with the broken home and confusion with indifference. He hides his emotions and only occasionally displays the simmering anger just below the surface. This state of mind of both brothers is reflected in their behavior throughout the play.

Read Toni Tresca’s Westword story about ‘Jeremiah’

Between most scenes, a string of media images plays across the darkened stage – movies with  extraordinary gun violence; toy gun commercials; video games with violent gunplay; music videos that portray gun possession as cool; and the famous clip from the movie Dirty Harry — “Do you feel lucky, punk?” All of these ramp up the emotions of the play, scene by scene.

Enter Tobias (Brandon Billings) and Todd (Nate Cushing) who are more up the chain of street bullies and hooligans than Jeremiah and Mitchell. They flex their rank with Mitchell and regularly bully Jeremiah in the alley. After Jeremiah and Mitchell go to a park and use up all the bullets shooting the gun off, Mitchell charges Jeremiah with the task of finding more so that he can impress Ivy, the girl he likes. Jeremiah reluctantly reveals to Tobias and Todd that they are in possession of a gun when he asks them if they know where to find bullets. Tobias is immediately intrigued, telling Todd that they need to possess that gun and show it to Fillmore, a more prominent criminal up the street-cred chain. Tobias believes the gun will give him immediate status on the street and with Fillmore. Todd egregiously follows Tobia’s lead. He has other plans for his life but is struggling to share that with Tobias.

Billings portrays Tobias with a calm, cool deliverance of a criminal on his way up. The portrayal just needs a bit more edge to be completely believable. Cushing’s inept criminal Todd is spot-on. He confidently plays the muscle of the duo and eloquently shows Todd’s struggle between continuing this thug life with Tobias — or perhaps something better with Liz.

Nate Cushing | Photo: McLeod9 Creative

Meanwhile, Mitchell shows more confidence because he carries a gun. He’s convinced that the gun has influenced Ivy to be interested in him. Jeremiah quietly struggles between supporting his brother and his disdain as well as fascination with the weapon.

Tobias and Todd easily “convince” Mitchell to rent the gun to them for a week. Mitchell wants this because that provides money to buy more bullets. When Tobias and Todd don’t return the gun, Mitchell steals one from his father’s gun safe. It’s then discovered that Fillmore’s gun was stolen from his van (yes, that van). Tobias then wants Mitchell to take the gun back and take the blame. Mitchell refuses while pointing his father’s gun at Tobias. Jeremiah is a deer in the headlights in this scene. His anxiety with the weapon unravels as everyone’s emotions escalate. After their father’s diner is burned down in retaliation, there is gunfire exchanged and with familiarly tragic results. The smoke clears, life goes on, but there is still fascination with the power that guns provide and the cycle continues.

Benchmark Theatre’s small space affords an up-close-and-personal proximity with the cast. Neal Truglio’s set and props are realistic – it felt like I was watching the action unfold in an alley. It could be even more grungy. The stage lighting, by Kevin Taylor, befits the alley. Additionally, I especially liked the thick tree shadows on the walls during the park scene. However, sound designer Marc Stith’s pigeons and crows, park sounds, precise gunfire, traffic, and so on absolutely make each scene. It’s brilliantly done. The costume design, by Jaime McNear, is especially true to life and each character wears clothing that is well-suited for who they are.

Jeremiah is a thought-provoking play presented from a perspective that I hadn’t considered until last night. It added yet another spoke to the wheel that is gun violence in this country. To me, the play resoundingly conveys the hopelessness of a gun violence resolution, as it’s a giant, multi-faceted hot mess. It left me wondering, “what can be done?”