Marin IJ: Review: Marin Theatre’s ‘White Chip’ Brilliant From Top to Bottom
BARRY WILLIS | barry.m.willis@gmail.com
A serious personal problem gets a dazzling comedic treatment in Sean Daniels’ “The White Chip” at Marin Theatre through Sept. 20.
In his Marin Theatre debut, Benjamin Clark plays a brilliant theater director named Steven, who narrates and performs an alcohol-fueled autobiography — one that begins with him sipping his first beer at 12 years old and continues into an adulthood of blackout drinking that almost scuttles his career.
He becomes so addicted that he starts each morning with a 50/50 blend of vodka and Diet Coke. He’s estranged by choice from his parents, destroys a long-distance marriage and focuses each moment on when and where he can get his next drink. Despite his self-induced impairment, he’s managed to helm many hit shows and win a strong following in the professional theater community.
Taking its name from the Alcoholics Anonymous practice of offering a white chip to participants who’ve completed a day of sobriety, the story is a more or less accurate but very funny retelling of Daniels’ own career, one that likely would have ended differently had he not gotten sober.
The entire quick-moving one-act comedy takes place on an imposing set by Christopher Fitzer. It’s a work of designer genius, with empty bottles stacked to the rafters — beacons for probable drinkers and reminders of all that’s been consumed. It’s the most elegant interpretation of an upscale hotel bar or airport watering hole that you may ever see.
With its heartfelt message, the show also adheres closely to the experience of Marin Theatre Executive Artistic Director Lance Gardner, who next year will celebrate two decades of sobriety. Gardner directed the show. His personal insights and unerring eye for compelling productions elevate an already superb script by several orders of magnitude. No one else could have brought this production to life so effectively.
A dazzling, energetic performer, Clark is brilliant in the lead role, matched by castmates Lyndsy Kail and Danny Scheie, both of them Equity professionals, who between them play a dozen or so characters, all clearly differentiated with only quick-change costumes and variations in posture, mannerism and vocal inflection. “The White Chip” is a masterclass in acting.
Kail instantly morphs from mother to girlfriend to wife to production assistant. Scheie does likewise as Steven’s beer-guzzling grade-school friend, his Parkinson’s-afflicted father, a perky bartender, a gruff addiction counselor and more. The Clark/Kail/Scheie trio is spectacularly well-matched and spectacularly well-rehearsed.
Gardner mentioned postshow that they were in rehearsal right up to 4 p.m. before Tuesday’s press opener. Obsession for perfection proved a wise strategy. There’s not a glitch anywhere in this delightfully entertaining and deeply thought-provoking production.
Many of us have battled substance abuse or have friends or family members who have. Above all, “The White Chip” is a celebration of recovery without a hint of preaching or blame. Steven’s long journey down the rabbit hole of addiction was one of his own making, but his recovery is one that could not have happened without the help of others.
Ticketholders are encouraged to arrive early to peruse the artworks in the lobby. Marin Theatre has a wonderful tradition of making the space into a gallery for pieces related to the show in progress — in this case, amazing and compelling works by Lucy Sokoloff, Kip Westerfield and Gabriel Campbell, all artists in recovery.
Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and past president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact him at barry.m.willis@gmail.com
If you go
What: “The White Chip”
Where: Marin Theatre, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley
When: Through Sept. 20
Admission: $15 to $110
Information: 415-388-5208; MarinTheatre.org
Rating (out of five stars): 5 stars
