By Bart Greenberg***Obsessed, a neo-noir thriller by David McDermott and Andy Halliday, at Theater For The New City, is an attempt to invoke the classic films of the 1940s and 50s through a gay prism. The playwrights effectively create an out-of-time world where same-sex relationships are unquestioned, where cell phones don’t exist (but rotary phones have an ability to take messages) and where everyone lacks morals but are overflowing with passion. References abound to genre films, from an unseen 
gangster named The Swede (Burt Lancaster in The Killers) to echoes of the Hitchcock classic Vertigo, with a bit of Sunset Boulevard tossed in. Although Halliday has an extensive background and connection with genre-specialist and camp drag artist, Charles Busch, this show is far from a camp performance; in fact, it takes itself almost too seriously, only going over the top in a final scene where bodies begin to pile up like the last act of a Shakespearian tragedy.
Conmen Jamie (Andrew Glaszek) and Thomas (Eme Esquivel), lovers in a somewhat sadomasochistic relationship, are on the run from a job gone wrong, complete with cash hidden in a locker in Kansas City (pay attention to that little red key) and a menacing boss constantly calling. Hiding out in a dumpy apartment in lower New York City, and in need of cash, they head off to the local gay bar where they meet Scott (Halliday), a very rich older gentleman on his way home from an art show/fund raiser for Bellevue Hospital (yes, portentous foreshadowing).
The aggressive Jamie invites himself over, offering up the beautiful Thomas as bait. I turns out that the latter is a historical furniture expert (yeah, just go with it), who is interested in the furnishings and especially the fireplace (yes, more portentous foreshadowing). Scott is smitten with the young man, but Jamie ruins things with his alcoholic temper and his inability to grab hold of the ready money. And then there is the hostile Susan (Alexa Renee), the rich guy’s caretaker and a very bad painter of kittens. Add to the mix a mysterious someone named Harrison who is either absent or dead, and to whom Thomas bears a striking resemblance, especially after Scott starts dressing him in the missing boy’s clothes. Allegiances shift, sex is a weapon, and every one of them have secrets galore.
The strongest performance was offered by Esquivel as the conflicted and often impenetrable street boy who is smarter than he thinks. He’s also trying to escape a life in the gutter and has to face a choice of which of two dominant men (one physical, the other psychological) is best for him. Is he a user, a liar or an innocent? The audience is never quite sure—but he may not be sure himself. Glaszek matches his portrayal with a more muscular (both personality and physicality) interpretation as a conman who isn’t really as smart as he thinks he is, but iis ruthless and driven in his appetites.
It is easy to imagine film noir regular Dan Duryea in the part, and the current actor captures that image very well. Halliday seems hesitant in the early scenes and seems to be inclined to give flat line readings, but as we learn more about the character and his background, these attributes make more sense. He certainly captures the spoiled elegance and the sadness of the man. Renee has the least defined character; we are told she has had a “rough time” of it though we never know any details. And when she makes a major shift halfway through the play, the 
actress can’t quite make it believable. As a “femme fatale,” she can’t quite project the smokey sexuality that such roles usually possess in the movies. Or perhaps it is Thomas who is the “homme fatale” of the piece.
McDermott, wearing his second hat as director, handled the show with the sense that it is intended as a film as much as a play, shifting between locations, underscored by an effective bluesy jazz soundtrack—highly effective but unfortunately uncredited. The flaw in his work was his inability to keep much of the staging from shifting too far upstage in a very deep playing space, coupled with too-dark lighting. Designed by Elizabeth M. Stewart, the idea was meant to suggest the atmospheric and distinctive look of the genre, keeping the audience at both a physical and emotional distance, but it failed in its intent. The set design by B.T. Whitehall allowed for the fluidity of the material, but unfortunately betrayed the limited budget of the proceedings.
Obsessed runs approximately 90 minutes without intermission. The production includes firearms/gunfire, sexual violence and smoking. The show runs through April 22, 2023 at Theater for the New City at 155 First Ave., New York, NY. Tickets and more information can be found at theaterforthenewcity.net.
