The Last Match– Or The Zen of Competition
Disclaimer: I haven’t played tennis since I was an adolescent, nor do I follow it. I’m also not much of a sports fan. Having stated that, though historical references flew by me, I found The Last Match intriguing and entertaining. Tennis could stand in for any single-minded pursuit that gobbles up one’s life and self worth.
Despite the fact he’s 34 years-old, golden boy Tim Porter (Wilson Bethel) is the all on favorite in these semifinal matches at the United States Open. His opponent, Sergei (Alex Mickiewicz) arrives hyper aware that beating this long admired, highly rated player would be a formidable springboard to his career. The men (respectfully) snap at one another, think aloud, occasionally hit a ball (precise sound effects by Bray Poor), and relate- past and present, to the distaff side of their respective lives (this is a bit disjointed): Tim’s wife Mallory (Zoe Winters) and Sergei’s girlfriend Galina (Natalia Payne).
Tim is a family man, warm, sentimental and fearfully aware retirement is snapping at his heels. Sergei, a decade younger, is pragmatic, volatile, and less prone to over thinking. Both men have known nothing but the sport since childhood. Neither can imagine another life. Mallory is level headed, unconditionally supportive even while feeling left behind. Galina is a spitfire- ambitious, demanding, and, to Sergei, inspiring.
The optimum “zone” –blocking out everything but one’s rival and the ball, is intermittently breached by the players’ concerns on court and off. When this happens, points are lost. We never learn who wins, though one might easily conjecture.
All four actors are good. Distinctions established by Bethel and Mickiewicz include athletic bearing that appears more settled in the former and agitated in the latter. Tim is playing mind over matter, Sergei like a young stallion. Not only is their syntax different, but the tenor of speech ably distinguishes. Winters is womanly and grounded. Payne showcases nervous energy with her onstage partner and is clearly aware of her character’s wiles.
Director Gaye Taylor Upchurch keeps her characters real, the situation sympathetic. She creates variety in what might be static vignettes.
Dialect Coach Ben Furey has done a fine job keeping accents evocative, consistent, and clear.
Tim Mackabee’s minimal Set, hand in hand with Bradley King’s Lighting Design, works well to situate the players in a stark, otherworldly environment bookended by looming scoreboards.
Photos by Joan Marcus
Opening: Wilson Bethel & Alex Mickiewicz
Zoe Winters & Tim Bethel
Natalia Payne & Alex Mickiewicz
Roundabout Theatre Company presents
The Last Match by Anna Ziegler
Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch
The Laura Pels Theatre 111 West 46th Street
Through December 23, 2017
