Boro’s Walken Shines In B’way’s ‘Behanding’

By Elyse Trevers

When residents of Queens boast about their borough, they should brag about Astoria native Christopher Walken. Known for his serious brooding roles (“The Deer Hunter,” “The Dead Zone,” “Pulp Fiction”) Walken evokes apprehension in his viewers. This season, fans will see his comical side in the world premiere of Martin McDonagh’s play, A Behanding in Spokane.

Astoria’s Christopher Walken is wonderful in the limited-engagement run of “A Behanding In Spokane.”

The characters are con artists and lowlifes, and the action is set in a shabby hotel room The play centers around Carmichael’s quest to find his left hand. According to his tale, 47 years before, six hillbillies held him down until an oncoming train cut off his hand. Since that time, he exacted revenge on the six but is still in pursuit of his hand. (scenic design by Scott Pask). Marilyn and her boyfriend Toby try to con Carmichael (Walken) out of $500 for the return of his left hand. Unfortunately, the couple, neither of whom is particularly bright, doesn’t have the real hand. Carmichael makes it evident that he is displeased when he sees what they have brought him. And then the action really begins.

Under the deft direction of John Crowley, events that could be frightening or certainly sobering become hysterical. The story is off-center and the actions are unpredictable. You jump when you don’t expect it and when you steel yourself for violence …well…

As Marilyn and Toby, Zoe Kazan and Anthony Mackie make a pleasant young duo, sometimes bickering, sometimes protecting one another. Their characters seem young and inexperienced, hardly able to cope with the fearsome Carmichael. Kazan skillfully portrays a series of moods: flirtatious , immature, silly and calculating. Mackie tries to be a tough guy and other times he tends to cry a lot.

Sam Rockwell plays Mervyn, the oddball hotel reservation manager. He is actually the weirdest of the characters. Most of the story moves quickly except for the lengthy monologue that Mervyn delivers between scenes and seems a bit extraneous.

McDonagh uses bigotry, curses and homophobia to produce humor. Part of the humor is created by the contrasts of event to reaction. Often the characters seem to forget their peril and instead treat their predicament as normal. When Carmichael berates Toby, repeatedly using the N word, Marilyn lectures the gun-waving Carmichael for not being politically correct.

But the heart of the show is Walken. Looming large and wearing a greatcoat and shoulder-length grey hair, he resembles the late Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight.” He caresses each word, sometimes stretching out syllables. He’s deliberate in his actions and even gets humor from his physicality. He’s simply wonderful! If you are already a fan, you will love him and if you weren’t before, you may find yourself waiting outside the stage door.

Occasionally when you go to the theater, there’s an audience buzz before the performance begins. The energy is palpable and the excitement is contagious as the anticipation builds. So it was for Behanding in Spokane. Fortunately, this play actually lives up to the anticipation. If you like black comedy and particularly Christopher Walken, you won’t be disappointed.