Review: In Absurd ‘Art Duty,’ An Examination of Art, Life, Death and Stuff in Between

Jeff Burleson, left, as Tobin and Marla Lopez as Asher in Art Duty” at LakehouseRanchDotPNG in Miami Lakes through Oct. 5. (Photo by Richard Lewis, courtesy of LakehouseRanchDotPNG).

There’s a piece of art on a tall white pedestal. A sculpture. It is two piles of folded clothes, each with a worn sneaker atop and tied with twine. Many times, throughout the play, “Art Duty” by Daniel Prillaman at LakehouseRanchDotPNG, those who come in to sometimes admire, sometimes abhor the work, comment on its appeal – mostly its shiny, gold

One visitor asks how much the installation has cost the government, setting up the boundaries of what’s identified as Art Plaza, not being just any museum.

The guards are not to reveal the information, but after the person shouts that he is a “taxpaying citizen,” the amount is revealed. Guard 1 Tobin refuses to answer, Guard 2 Asher says 15. “As in $15 million.” the person identified as Eggs asks? “No, 15 percent.” That would be 15 percent of the nation’s capital. What? Eggs is stunned. It’s just one of the kernels of information set forth to put the action in motion in the newly produced play running through Sunday, Oct. 5 at Main Street Players in Miami Lakes.

Luis Otamendi and Michael Font as Rich Lover #1 and Rich Lover #2 in Art Duty” at LakehouseRanchDotPNG through Oct. 5. (Photo by Richard Lewis, courtesy of LakehouseRanchDotPNG)

Much in the same vein as Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” (currently on Broadway, by the way, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter), the two guards pass the time with conversation – none of it really deep. At one point, Asher talks of a dream about searching a grocery store for a can of tuna.

Characters drift in and out in an effort to provide commentary, each with a desire to see the work – either to admire it, to scorn it, or, in one case, to sketch it.

The pedestal has a label affixed to it. The playwright does not give direction on what the art should look like.

The work is attributed to LakehouseRanchDotPNG’s Indy Sulliero, who created the set, and Richard Lewis, the scenic paint artist/charge. They’ve titled it “It’s Not Subtle.”

Michael Font and Luis Otamendi play seven characters each. The two other characters are Jeff Burleson as eye-patch wearing security guard Tobin, and Maria Lopez as Guard No. 2 Asher. The guards are not depicted as male or female – their language doesn’t speak to gender per se.

Jeff Burleson as Tobin gets ready to shoot an intruder who sprays paint in the eyes of Asher (Marla Lopez) in “Art Duty” at LakehouseRanchDotPNG through Oct. 5. (Photo by Richard Lewis, courtesy of LakehouseRanchDotPNG)

LakehouseRanchDotPNG did Sandusky, Ohio-based Prillaman’s piece as a reading during its 2024 DotPDF series of new works from playwrights across the country. This is the first time it is receiving a full production.

The set of gray walls with white conveys a claustrophobic, stark space. It also relays the idea that this is the only piece of art within Art Plaza.

Sound by Alex Tarradell has wind whistling outside – there’s a coldness to all of it. A clock chimes in between scenes, suggesting the passage of time, which also serves as the introduction of a new scene and new characters all played by Font and Otamendi.

The characters are mostly absurd – we’re introduced at first to the Vomiter. He is offstage and his wretching goes on for quite a while. Asher (Lopez) wants to help but Tobin (Burleson), the more seasoned guard says they are unable to leave their post.

There’s Leopold Caldwell, the correspondent of the government run TV station, who must gush on air  about the artwork. The Sketcher comes to admire the piece with sketchbook in tow, but life interrupts his art ending in a loud shouting match with a love interest over the phone. Snobbish Rich Lover #1 and Rich Lover #2 come by to talk about their absolute love for the golden art. “I would have this Art’s babies,” says Rich Lover #1. The two end up in an obscure conversation about eyeballs and freakish rituals. It’s a bit difficult to follow.

Brandon Urrutia’s direction finds its way to keep the two guards planted in place while the other characters come in and out creating a swirl of mayhem. The action moves swiftly in what is a complicated piece filled with entrances and exits. Urrutia also is the lighting designer, using muted hues to depict the cold environment of the two guards, and brighter tones for the characters who are juxtapositions of the guards –whirling much of the time in contrast with monotony of the two central characters.

Prillaman’s piece is an expose on art and the meaning of life but some of the scenes could use better segues in order to feel as if the “visitors” connect in an overarching way. That they are representations of different societal sects makes a statement, for sure, but there could be more cohesion.

Erin Proctor’s costumes go from realistic to outlandish and are perfect for a play that has no specific time of past, present or future.

Marla Lopez, left, as Asher and Luis Otamendi as Leopold Caldwell in “Art Duty.” Art Duty” at LakehouseRanchDotPNG through Oct. 5. (Photo by Richard Lewis, courtesy of LakehouseRanchDotPNG)

For the one dimension that is meant for the guards, both Burleson and Lopez breathe life into their guards. Lopez as Asher, the younger more inexperienced guard, bringing out Asher’s naiveté is a wonderful choice. And Burleson’s Tobin, just waiting for retirement, creates the complete opposite of the co-worker who has been assigned to join him on art duty.

In a scene where Burleson’s Tobin is struck by something funny, the actor’s ongoing and utterly believable laughter is one of the high points of the 90 minute, no intermission play.

It’s a lot of maneuvering for Font and Otamendi to play the many different characters but whether paired up or in single roles, each of them rise to the occasion. Font, with his long locks, grabs a lot of the attention with his outlandish depictions of Sketcher and one of the later characters who enters, Sandy Daniels, who says she has not arrived for the art, but has a “degree in talking.”

Prillaman has a gift for artful dialogue and comedy and has given his actors and the director much to work with. If there were a bit more information about what was outside of the four walls these characters inhabit – the world in which exists that creates what goes on inside – it might add a bit more context.

“Art Duty” does fulfill its absurdist, satirical mission especially during fraught times when the U.S. government is making decisions on what constitutes art, and the more recent and current debate over free speech.

WHAT:  Daniel Prillaman’s “Art Duty”

WHERE:  LakehouseRanchDotPNG, Main Street Playhouse, 6812 Main St., Miami Lakes

WHEN:  8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through Sunday, Oct. 5

COST:  $20.

INFORMATION: 786-427-4721 and lakehouseranchdotpng.com

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