Steppenwolf’s Fake Is Entertaining, But Unfocused

By Julienne Bilker in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 25, 2009 8:20PM

photo of Kate Arrington and Francis Guinan by Michael Brosilow

At the center of Fake, which opened Steppenwolf Theatre’s season on Tuesday night, is the “Piltdown Man.” A reconstructed skeletal head consisting of skull and jawbone fragments allegedly discovered in a gravel pit in Piltdown, England in 1912, Piltdown Man was considered to be the missing link between man and ape. Although its authenticity was challenged almost immediately, it was not declared a forgery by the scientific community for 40 years, when advances were able to prove that the reconstruction was actually an orangutan jawbone combined with the skull of a modern man. Got it? Now on to the actual play.

In the opening scene, we meet several historical figures who were involved in Piltdown Man’s alleged discovery, or either corroborated or questioned its legitimacy. It is 1914, and they have been gathered together by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for reasons unknown. The atmosphere and snappy dialogue made us think we might be in for something akin to Clue.

Not so much. In an interview included in the show’s program, playwright and director Eric Simonson discusses the human obsession with self-investigation, the compulsion to solve mysteries and the idea that what is real to one person may not be real to another. So, alright, this is a drama, not a farce. That’s cool. Except…

To us, there would seem to be enough drama inherent in the disputed discovery and incredible frustration felt by those attempting to discredit it without empirical evidence - plus, the fleshing out of historical figures as full characters can be really exciting to watch. However, half of Simonson’s play follows fictional characters in 1953, when Piltdown Man was proven to be a hoax, juxtaposing the two time periods with each actor taking on roles in both, but also bringing in more of the great puzzles of humanity. How do we define belief versus faith? In questions of science, do the ‘who’ and ‘why’ matter as much as the ‘what’? It felt like Simonson attempted to address too many large questions, and in turn sacrificed character development. In other words, the script is spread too thinly.

While the real dramatic pull should come from the controversy at hand, it doesn’t: A love affair subplot seems tacked on to add some juice. There are a few anachronistic expressions thrown in - we’re all for artistic license, but it’s fairly jarring to hear “shove it up your ass” in a scene taking place in 1914. And while Todd Rosenthal’s set is beautiful, the sheer amount of scenery required for each scene slows things down considerably, and places too much importance on, well, stuff.

At this point, you might be wondering why our headline declares Fake to be entertaining. That’s because it is. Kate Arrington has some fierce moments as Rebecca Eastman, the American journalist investigating the hoax at the provocation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Francis Guinan). Guinan is amusingly quirky as Doyle, but the real meaty stuff comes from his incisive portrayal of Jonathan Cole, one of the scientists who proved Piltdown Man to be a fake. As Charles Dawson, the purported discoverer of the Piltdown Man, Larry Yando is hilariously smarmy, in a classy sort of way. Unfortunately these positive attributes weren’t enough for us. The fact that the show felt like it floated above us without ever grabbing us doesn’t mean we hated it. We just don’t think it accomplished what it set out to do.

Fake, through November 8. Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted. Tickets $20-$70 (20 $20 tix available day-of-show, half-price rush tix one hour before each show, student discounts available), 312-335-1650.