Ave of the Americas Review #4

Off Off Broadway Theatre Review: Avenue of The Americas is an Energetic and Engaging Satire!

by Peter Sanderson in Society, January 29, 2011

Martin Blank’s Avenue of the Americas is a scathing satire on instant fame and the price one has to pay for it.

Veteran playwright Martin Blank takes us into the world of advertising with his Paddy Chayefsky-stylized dark comedy one act Avenue of the Americas, currently running at The Tank Theatre in Manhattan until February 6th.

The 35 minute comedy / drama, skillfully directed by Katherine M. Carter, stars Laura Yost as 30 year old Katie White, who has been locked away for two decades in a mental institution, with the only thought keeping her going is the hope that one day she’ll live her dream of working for a big advertising firm. Unable to think, feel and speak anything other than her commercial catchphrases, Katie’s obsession with advertising is similar to that of Faye Dunaway’s character Diana Christensen, and her obsession to be number one in the television ratings, in Paddy Chayefsky’s brilliant film Network, which skewers television and instant celebrity. Christensen’s obsession with ratings is so severe that she can’t even relax and enjoy sex with lover William Holden. A similar scene takes place in Avenue of the Americas.

But first, Katie manages to escape the mental institution and make her way to Manhattan to pursue work for a major advertising firm run by Jay Green (Timothy J. Cox). She is introduced to Green by the suave, but sweet businessman Phil Scott (Chris Davis) who immediately becomes smitten with her. During a scene where they are intimate, Katie, likely unfamiliar with sex, simply screams out the names of household products and her trusty catchphrases when reaching climax. While the scene is quite funny, it is also quite sad, as we see how damaged and broken Katie’s life has become, to the point where she can’t even enjoy love making.

By the time this scene happens, Katie is making strides in the advertising world, but she quickly earns negative press from her critics, specifically, the Catholic church, who come down on her and Green after the airing of a controversial commercial about cat food (the commercial is hilariously performed in the production by actress Virginia Bartholomew, as a little girl whose cat has died). Green begins to have suspicions about Katie and decides to dig through her past. If Katie isn’t silenced, it may cost him big time.

Avenue of the Americas scores on many levels. While Blank’s script may draw comparisons to Chayefsky’s script to Network and to Jerry Kozinski’s novella (and film) Being There, Blank’s script does stand on it’s own, crackling with sharp wit, but also proving to be a scathing satire on instant fame and the price one has to pay for it. Here, all three leads pay a price: While Katie’s reached her goal in the advertising world, she’s so immersed in her dream world that she can’t even enjoy the real love and life around her; Jay pays a price for assuming that the past can never come back to bite you on the behind and Phil Scott pays big time for letting his guard down to try and love a woman who cannot think outside her box and conceive the thought and idea of love.

The rapid fire pacing set by director Katherine M. Carter sets the tone for the entire piece. Her scenes move energetically, with swift scene changes, snappy music and well used projections that take us from place to place.

On the acting side, Carter has assembled a game cast, led by Yost, exceptional as Katie, bringing a warmth and compassion to her role that made the character instantly likable. She is well matched by Timothy J. Cox, flawless as a man driven by success, who is then driven to desperation to cover up his past and by Chris Davis, who shines as the plays’ schnook, the most relatable of all the characters, a man who just wants to love, but cannot receive it from the woman he loves. Rounding out the cast in an array of impressive character turns are the aforementioned Bartholomew and Leo Goodman, both earning huge laughs for their contributions.

Avenue of the Americas is a production that would benefit greatly from a more substantial run, as it’s currently set for only 6 performances at The Tank, so I’d recommend visiting http://www.thetanknyc.org now for tickets, although it is my hope that Martin Blank’s play will be seen again.