No disrespect to the people who valiantly gave up their lives to fight in the Vietnam conflict, but, man, is this subject tired! Chaos … drugs … futility — all themes explored ad nauseam by Oliver Stone and a gaggle of writers who've mined the murky depths of that blot on world history. Thankfully, Jobsite director (and theater artistic director) David M. Jenkins makes the predictable exploration worthwhile with a top-notch production of the Steve Patterson-scripted Vietnam drama, Waiting on Sean Flynn.
For those who haven't read the previews, Waiting on Sean Flynn is about a team of journalists who discuss in flashback the disappearance of photojournalist Sean Flynn (son of actor Errol) who in real life disappeared after venturing into enemy territory. Feeling unsure about Flynn's whereabouts, the reporters feel equally doubtful of themselves and their roles in a war with no clear enemy.
The acting is natural and unaffected; especially convincing is lead character Ami Sallee Corley as a journalist conflicted about remaining in the conflict. She brings guts, tenderness and tons of subtext to her role. The Tampa theater community is better for having her. Jason Evans, David Doan, Sean Paonessa and Chris Holcolm also provide brilliant performances. Their caught-in-the-battle scenes and arguments come across with aplomb without being overly bombastic — a past downfall of Jobsite productions.
Also effective are the lights and sound. Through artfully silhouetted dream scenes and sound effects, light design guru John Lott and sound designer Dickie Corley elevate the proceedings to surreal level not usually done well in black- box theaters.
Jenkins' choices in direction border on expert and inappropriate at times. You can tell he's striving for gritty realism but the real-time approach to theatrical interactions makes for uneven pacing. The play feels like it doesn't move at times. (Perhaps these gaps have been tightened up since the opening night performance I saw.)
The other aspect of this play that brings difficulty to audiences is the jargon. Kudos to Jenkins for providing a glossary of terms (like Charlie = enemy, piaster = Vietnam currency, etc.) but without exposition or visual references, many of the conversations seem indecipherable.
Would I see this play again? Probably not. Sure, it's poignant and provides good slices of history, and the actors and production are a pleasure to behold, but the ideas have been explored several times before. And one thing I don't want is to be desensitized to something as tragic as the Vietnam War.
This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2001.