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The American Pilot Reviews
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A CHILLING WAR STORY Review by: Beth M, Feb 5, 2008 |
“THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH:” AN AMERICAN PILOT---MANHATTAN THEATER CLUB
By Beth Mandelbaum
Before seeing An American Pilot, I read two reviews that were easily accessible to me on the Internet, one by Charles Isherwood and the other by David Finkle. It wasn't until after the performance that two thoughts, one from each review, really stood out in terms of my personal response to the show and its significance.
One felt that ... read more "a generic play about an American soldier held captive and possibly primed for execution can hardly be expected to rivet our attention--or even perhaps escape our dismay--when real soldiers (and real civilians) are mired in predicaments of a similar kind on the other side of the globe, day after brutal bruising day." The other writes that "...there's no denying that it lays out the unsettling condition in extremely clear terms. For that reason, it isn't an easy 90 minutes...to endure in a theater seat, but it's got the 'thanks, I needed that' factor."
I found these very different responses to An American Pilot to be extremely striking. I would like to say that I have total respect for the intelligence of both of these reactions, and am far from being in a position to write a review of this play. But I personally came away feeling that, because these kinds of horrific and brutal events do occur daily, or perhaps even every minute, miles and miles away, offered me a compelling reason as to why a play like this ought to be seen and experienced.
Perhaps this pay had such an impact on me because I tend to see the "two dimensional" newspaper and magazine photographs of war rather than watching the "three dimensional" footage of TV news. Watching this extremely vivid, sometimes frightening, and very thought provoking (for me) play in a small darkened theater with little to distract, offered me, provided an opportunity to focus on every detail and every word, with no way to escape by "changing the channel" (except for the couple next to me who announced that they were leaving at intermission).
One of the fascinating aspects of this play is that one begins to realize that the Pilot cannot understand anything that the other characters are saying because they literally speak a different language (except occasionally and sometimes humorously, the remarks of the Farmer's teenage daughter, when she uses bits of English gleaned from TV programs that she watches with a friend.)
In the play one is drawn into the experience of war from the perspective of the play's various characters--the pilot, the farmer and his family who rescued him and tries to make his stay as comfortable and as safe as humanly possible while the pilot's fate is being deciding by The Captain who is leading the rebellion against a regime that is supported by the American government, in conjunction with his translator, and a village councilor.
There were some extremely touching moments. For example, the scene in which the Captain, who really struggles with his decision as to the Pilot's fate, is alone with the Pilot and says to him something to the effect that "in another time and place, we could have been friends," but that under the conditions of war, this was not possible. And the Captain, while on the one hand threatening the pilot whom he has tied up in rope, also shows an openness and humility towards the Pilot by asking him what he (The Captain) should do to make things right; what would be the right thing to do in this situation. But because the Pilot cannot understand the Captain, the Pilot's response is to spit on him. It is this event that triggers that Captain's decision that the Pilot should be executed and that this be video taped for the media all over the world.
At the play's end, there seemed to me to be some uncanny parallels with the ending of The Lieutenant of Inishmore. (Let's here it for the playwrights of the British Isles!) I kept thinking that a tiny black cat would suddenly ap |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Tourists, Adults
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Review by: Tom, Feb 12, 2007 |
As I have said in the past, art is life to scale. Effective art gives you perspective that is otherwise unavailable. It can illuminate issues that are too large to be contained inside the walls of a theater. It helps you to see what's right in front of you, but normally invisible.
"The American Pilot," by David Greig, playing through the end of the month at the Manhattan Theater Club, is the sort of play that gives just this sort of ... read more perspective. Another play about war, "The Vertical Hour," attempts to deal with issues surrounding the Iraq War by addressing the conflict specifically. That work fails rather miserably. In contrast, "The American Pilot" avoids specificity, yet hits its target (the effects of American power on the global political/economic stage) with tremendous force and accuracy -- partly because it's not set in any named country. The people there are of a different religion, but not necessarily Muslim. The war going on in this unnamed land doesn't even directly involve the United States. It’s foreign in a completely non-specific way, and that helps Greig to make his point.
The pilot himself (who is on stage, in pretty much the same position, for the entire play) has crashed into a mountain in this country, on his way somewhere else. He was not on a mission in the country, he was just unfortunate enough to crash there. "There" is rebel-held territory. When the leader of the rebels (The "Captain") finds his way to the village, posturing and positioning has already begun. The pilot is more than a hostage, he is a bit of chaos come to life. His presence stirs things up and creates opportunities and dangers the villagers must navigate.
From the pilot's point of view, the path is clear: the villagers must release him and get him to a telephone. "If you hurt me, bombs will come. If you don't hurt me, money will come." He knows what most of the villagers don't -- that America will extend its power and crush their little village if it must. The rebel leader, however, understands the situation perfectly. Even though his second-in-command thinks his strategy is nihilistic and irrational, the Captain says: "In the face of absolute power, nihilism IS rational."
The first act of "The American Pliot" is a tad slow-moving, but don't worry -- it's only setting you up for a second half where everything changes, motives are revealed and strategies alter. Showing us how American hegemony can present itself on the ground of any of the third world countries where we project our power is the bit of magic worked by the art of "The American Pilot."
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My recommendation:
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Powerful drama, this is a top pick Review by: www.stagestrucknyc.com, Nov 26, 2006 |
| Wow! This play is so simple, and so powerful on many levels. It illuminates the news about major world conflicts in a handful of characters in a remote village confronted with the presence of a wounded US air force pilot in their midst. Revealing the motivations, fears, and desires of each character in brilliant scenes, we can see how imperfect is the communication and understanding of all the characters of the drama in which they have ... read more become involved. The acting and direction are great, and my hat is off to the playwright Greig. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Business Assoc., Adults, Anyone
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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