If you came of age in the flamboyant era of big hair, acid-washed jeans, Members Only jackets, and neon EVERYTHING, then chances are you’ve seen or at least heard of the iconic 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. If you are not a child of the 80s, get ready to be schooled. The year is 1984, March 24th to be exact, and five students from very different social circles at Shermer High School have been sentenced to spend a dreaded day holed up, in detention, in the library, supervised by their school principal.
Flash forward to present-day 2017, shall we? Bradley Bredeweg and Kate Pazakis, executive producers, and co-writers of The Last Breakfast Club, now playing at Rockwell Table & Stage, reassign their character equivalents of the original to different circumstances in their offering.
For Claire, “The Princess”; Bender, “The Criminal”; Allison, “The Basketcase”; Brian, “The Brain,” and Andrew, “The Athlete,” it’s the end of the world as they know it. Why? Because Shermer High’s sour puss principal wants them to deliver a 1000-word essay titled “Who you think you are” by the end of the day.
Might we now observe a three-second silent homage to an era when essays were not typed on a personal computer or a virtual keyboard but laboriously handwritten?
The assignment—essentially an exercise in introspection—catalyzes this motley crew to explore their core identities vis à vis the restrictive labels placed on them by society.
Things aren’t exactly as John Hughes scripted in this latest version. For starters, a nuclear apocalypse traps Bredeweg’s and Pazakis’ teens in the library for the duration—they NEVER leave! Yikes. Principal Vernon? He’s a zombie now but just as irascible as on the big screen. Carl, the janitor who once famously claimed to be the “eyes and ears” of Shermer High circa 1984, now relishes his aggrandized 2017 role as judge and jury of the detention gang—think less cleaning and more annoying moral compass.
Onto these tweaks, Bredeweg and Pazakis have layered a generous mix of 80s-era Top 100 hits and inserted a riff on the equally iconic flick Back to the Future.
The delicious result of the collaboration is a rip-roaring, thought-provoking, and hilarious commentary ranging across topics as varied as sexuality, gender identity, and parental conflict through contemplation about who does run the world (spoiler alert: it’s rich, white zombies!)
The small stage at this theater constrains the actors’ movements, but they sometimes make lemonade of that lemon. One such instance occurs when Andrew (Max Ehrich) and Allison (Lana McKissack) hop up on the bar next to me to contemplate what life might be like if they ever leave the library. As they launch into Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” I delight in the feeling of participation their proximity evokes.
The action’s focal point is an elevated platform at the front of the Table & Stage restaurant. A lower runway, stretching from the platform to the rear of the restaurant, aids significantly in giving the audience an immersive experience. Here is where Brian (Garrett Clayton) and Carl (Damon Gravina) use John Mellencamp’s “Hurt So Good” to explore love and the joys of giving into their carnal desires.
(Photo: Bryan Carpender)
The energetic actors all take turns weaving through and around the tables in the room, essentially whiling away their time in apocalyptic purgatory, teasing each other, singing, dancing, fighting, and telling their stories to maximum effect.
However, the play’s main objective isn’t merely an exercise in the nostalgic celebration of a few mixed-up teenagers. In his director’s note, Bredeweg states the importance of escape through entertainment and the role it plays in evoking not just laughter and tears but awareness and inspiration to face our current predicament, a once hopeful canvas now completely painted over by misinformation, mistrust, and misuse of power.
Does the play accomplish what he intended? You bet. From the moment Claire (Anna Grace Barlow) Bender (Jonah Platt), Andrew, Brian, and Allison channel R.E.M* (*true children of the 80s will need no background for this reference) to declare: “It’s The End of the World” the concept of their detention as a touchstone for topical contemporary American issues has been eloquently conveyed. Weren’t we supposed to keep growing after the 2017 Presidential Inauguration? Why do we seem to be stuck in purgatory instead? Later the characters on stage even ponder whether the world might fare better with women at the helm.
Whilst the “Last Club” brat pack purges their experiences and insecurities, the audience discovers that beneath Principal Vernon’s (Jimmy Ray Bennett) zombie-like exterior beats the heart of someone who truly wants to see these delinquents succeed.
“You kids have the chance to do something better. Be who you wanna be; who gives a f*ck what people think?” he says.
Principal Vernon’s exhortation is an uplifting one for these teens who collectively realize that, in the end, they aren’t just one-dimensional characters. They are complex people who must stand their ground and fight for their beliefs. This message resonates from the stage with the audience. After all, isn’t that what being fully alive and self-determining requires of us all?
‘The Last Breakfast Club’
Where: Rockwell Table & Stage, 1714 N. Vermont Ave, L.A.
When: 8:00 p.m. Thursdays – Sundays; ends July 22nd
Tickets: 323. 669. 1550 or Rockwell-LA.com
Running time: 2 hours
