'Matt and Ben' sweetly satirical taste of fame
Analise Lipari
Issue date: 4/19/06 Section: Scene
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Running last week at the DPAC's Philbin Theater, "Matt and Ben" was a sweetly satiric one-act romp into the fictional private lives of its two famous protagonists when they happened upon "Good Will Hunting" - or rather, when "Will Hunting" happened upon them.
The play opened with Ben Affleck (Nathaniel Grams) and Matt Damon (Carly Vandewalle) in Ben's apartment, as Ben painstakingly attempts to adapt J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" for the screen, line by literal line. The bantering relationship set up by Grams and Vandewalle here lent the play a fun, deeply felt camaraderie between the two that never let up, despite an erratic and hysterical fight scene, as well as visits from both Gwyneth Paltrow and Salinger himself (portrayed by Grams and Vandewalle, respectively).
Both the play's action and sense of humor were jumpstarted by one unlikely event. After fighting with each other and the audience, Matt and Ben are shocked when a stuffed manila envelope, containing a certain verbose but inspired script, falls from the sky, out of the hands of fate and into Ben's apartment.
What the two do with the work, and how it impacts their lives in the immediate and later future, were the issues at the center of "Matt and Ben," and proved to be the basis of a great evening of theater.
The set of "Matt and Ben" was perfect for a Bostonian comedy, giving the impression of a Southie apartment with Fenway Park posters and an angular design that emphasized the action onstage. Littered with food wrappers, laundry, and a faded old couch, set designer Steve Hoeplinger's set aptly fit its owners. The yellowish lighting also lent the apartment a more dingy, lived-in feel.
Along with this feel was the music chosen as an introduction to the play. Queen and the Killers greeted the ears of audience members and each song was interestingly bracketed by quotes from "Good Will Hunting," lending the audience a better sense of the work and characters in question.
The play opened with Ben Affleck (Nathaniel Grams) and Matt Damon (Carly Vandewalle) in Ben's apartment, as Ben painstakingly attempts to adapt J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" for the screen, line by literal line. The bantering relationship set up by Grams and Vandewalle here lent the play a fun, deeply felt camaraderie between the two that never let up, despite an erratic and hysterical fight scene, as well as visits from both Gwyneth Paltrow and Salinger himself (portrayed by Grams and Vandewalle, respectively).
Both the play's action and sense of humor were jumpstarted by one unlikely event. After fighting with each other and the audience, Matt and Ben are shocked when a stuffed manila envelope, containing a certain verbose but inspired script, falls from the sky, out of the hands of fate and into Ben's apartment.
What the two do with the work, and how it impacts their lives in the immediate and later future, were the issues at the center of "Matt and Ben," and proved to be the basis of a great evening of theater.
The set of "Matt and Ben" was perfect for a Bostonian comedy, giving the impression of a Southie apartment with Fenway Park posters and an angular design that emphasized the action onstage. Littered with food wrappers, laundry, and a faded old couch, set designer Steve Hoeplinger's set aptly fit its owners. The yellowish lighting also lent the apartment a more dingy, lived-in feel.
Along with this feel was the music chosen as an introduction to the play. Queen and the Killers greeted the ears of audience members and each song was interestingly bracketed by quotes from "Good Will Hunting," lending the audience a better sense of the work and characters in question.