Brett Williams
The cast of The Twilight of the Golds
David Gold slams his hands on the table as he rises from his chair, demanding his parents answer his question. David needs to know the fate of his kind. Walter Gold looks his openly gay son in the eyes and responds: “You’re diseased, and you need a cure.” The audience gasps.
The moment is enough to make your eyes fill with water. At the Bartell through Dec. 16, The Twilight of the Golds is two hours of the burning question: If you knew you were going to have a gay child, would you have it?
In honor of the Bartell Theatre’s 20th anniversary, StageQ brought back The Twilight of the Golds from its 2001 inaugural season. Zak Stowe shines in the role of David Gold, developing a character rich with attitude and strength as he comes to realize his family’s love has a limit.
The setting is a New York City apartment, furnished with bland Ikea furnishings. Former med student turned Bloomingdale's employee Suzanne Gold-Stein and her husband Rob plan to celebrate their three-year wedding anniversary with David (Suzanne’s brother) and their parents, Walter and Phyllis.
Familiar banter lightens the room during pre-dinner cocktails, and Suzanne (Gina Gomez in her StageQ debut) announces she’s pregnant. Through breakthrough technology, they discover their male baby has a 90 percent likelihood of being gay. “Deformed would’ve been less complicated,” says Suzanne.
Writer Jonathan Tolins incorporates uncomfortably honest dialogue throughout the play, as David wrestles with whether to maintain ties with his family, and Suzanne ponders whether or not to have an abortion.
People fear what they don’t understand. Phillis Gold (Jaclyn June Johnson, in her Bartell debut) is the mother who wants to love her gay son for who he is, but can’t. Johnson commands the stage with her motherly absorption of every character around her. In a thick New York City accent (which all of the actors seem to master), Phyllis pleads to the audience that people can handle the power to choose whether to give birth to LGBT children – that they will do the right thing. Although, we are never convinced what her meaning of “right” is.
The show’s sound and lighting design are also excellent. In addition to playing David Gold, Stowe serves as the technical director on the set. The lighting, in particular, feeds the mood onstage.
Each of the play’s five actors have their turn at an aside, and some feel lengthy. So much of the emotion and story is already shown in the story that a few of the monologues could have been trimmed. However, that’s a minute criticism of a play that inspires the audience to ponder the meaning of power, technology and acceptance.
