‘Another American’ Asks for More in the Telling

Wave a slogan like “don’t ask, don’t tell” in front of journalists and artists, and you’re bound to provoke a lot of asking and telling.

In assembling his solo show “Another American: Asking and Telling,” now at the Mark Taper Forum, Marc Wolf worked first as a journalist, interviewing a wide range of people affected by the issue of the Clinton administration’s policy on gays in the military. Later, he worked as an actor in the Anna Deavere Smith tradition. He plays 18 of his interview subjects, speaking excerpts of their recorded words verbatim.

The result is more interesting as a piece of staged journalism than as a theatrical experience. It stops short of moving the debate forward or of achieving the intense emotional power of “The Laramie Project,” another documentary drama (now at La Jolla Playhouse) that examines gay issues. Still, “Another American” offers a number of skilled acting turns, points well taken and amusing ironies.

In his foreword to the printed script, Wolf makes clear that he is an advocate. He calls the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy “a dangerous recipe for the continued gagging and stereotyping of the gay and lesbian community.” But then he adds: “At the same time, I knew it would be important to find people who could persuasively argue the military’s point of view”--presumably for dramatic as well as journalistic purposes.

And so, in the course of 24 short scenes, Wolf offers a parade of testimonials from people who have been affected by the policy, interspersed with a few thoughts by supporters of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

At first, the order of the material appears virtually random, as if it could be shuffled without making much of a difference. However, in retrospect, the first act is built primarily around two interviews, each of which has three separate moments on stage.

In one of these, Wolf plays two middle-aged lesbian soldiers conversing. The interest here is as much in Wolf’s delineation of the women as in the content of what they have to say. One remains mostly silent as she smokes, with long reaction takes at the words of her chattier partner; Wolf quickly changes his position to illustrate both of them.

The other key interview of the first act is with a man whose tale is indeed vivid. His Marine recruiter took him to a gay bar the same day he signed up, and he later had sex with a drill instructor in boot camp. Eventually, he was hounded out of the corps, beaten and possibly infected with AIDS on his way out, and virtually disowned by his father. His story is the emotional heart of “Another American,” but because it’s separated into three sections and confined to the first act, Wolf’s low-key telling of the story never quite measures up to its potential.

The best part of the second act is a matched set of interviews: the first with a retired colonel who defends the removal of gays because they tamper with the “warrior ethic” that’s necessary to win wars, followed immediately by reminiscences of Vietnam service by an effeminate soldier who was called “Mary Alice” by his fellow grunts. If we can take his word for it (we have no one else’s), he helped his unit survive by getting the men to laugh and cry about their experiences. His words nicely undercut the colonel’s point in the preceding interview.

Most of Wolf’s subjects go unnamed in the theater. Not so with Miriam Ben Shalom, a lesbian soldier who was ousted and then reinstated in the service. Wolf’s interpretation of her abrasive speaking style adds helpful punctuation to both of the acts. A speech by a gay rights extremist who advocates that soldiers who expel gays should be hanged for treason also sheds heat, if not light.

By contrast, the interview of Charles Moskos, who is identified as the architect of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” depicts him as surprisingly lighthearted and casual. He cites privacy issues as the foundation of the policy--an analysis that is translated into more specific terms by a heterosexual ex-Marine who thinks out loud about the implications of sharing showers with known-to-be-gay soldiers.

Directed by Joe Mantello, Wolf never changes his clothes, but he does alter his voice and mannerisms to make the necessary distinctions. Still, the staging of Wolf’s characterization of a mother whose soldier son was slain in a gay-bashing incident is too static for maximum impact.

To help complete the journalistic experience, useful program notes offer context from history and from the experience of other countries that have eliminated bans on gays in the military. And to enhance the drama, the designers worked sparely but effectively.

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“Another American: Asking and Telling,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Today and Wednesday, Saturday, Aug. 23-24, 26, 28, 31, 8 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 25, 29 at 2:30 p.m. Also Sept. 2, 5-6, 8, 12-14 at 8 p.m.; Sept. 1, 9, 15 at 2:30 p.m. $30-$44. (213) 628-2772. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Written and performed by Marc Wolf. Directed by Joe Mantello. Set by Robert Brill. Lighting by Brian MacDevitt. Sound by David Van Tieghem. Production stage manager Mary K Klinger.