~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michelangelo Did This!

by Howard Hain
review in SF Examiner April 17, 2002 (Leslie Katz)

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The agony and the ecstasy

By Leslie Katz
Of The Examiner Staff

It's the 21st century, and master artist Michelangelo has come down from heaven to share
his views on art, nature, the meaning of life, and of life after death.

It sounds good. Michelangelo the personality delivers his insights with panache. He's
almost as good a talker as he was painter and sculptor.

Unfortunately, though, a lively performance by Nick Scoggin as the title character is not
enough to propel "Michelangelo Did This?" into a wholly satisfying experience. For while
Scoggin is compelling and playwright Howard Hain tosses out some interesting ideas, this
world premiere -- presented by Ghenghis Productions and Studio 300 -- lacks cohesion, and
any sort of dramatic tension.

The two-act show might work better as a one-act, one-man performance that sticks solely
to Michelangelo's musings and rantings. The precursor and afterward to Michelangelo's
appearance don't add anything to the proceedings, and neither does the device that brings
Michelangelo back to earth.

The show begins in San Francisco's North Beach, where a bunch of supposedly colorful
locals (Italian, of course) hang out at a cafÈ and debate the meaning of art. But after at least
15 tedious minutes, it's not apparent that any point has been made.

Next, for reasons not entirely clear, we're in a bakery in the town of Ridicium, Iowa, where
Harold (Joshua Duthie), the 19-year-old baker's son, sweeps the floor and agonizes about not
knowing what to do with his life. He tells his woes to his co-worker Eldon (Robert Brindley), a
snobby student who brings art history tomes to work.

Harry tells Eldon he's been having weird dreams; Eldon confirms that the dreams are in
Latin. It turns out that Harry is the vessel through which Michelangelo comes back to life.

Next thing we know, we're in Harry's bedroom, and Michelangelo bursts onto the scene.
He's riveting. The animated Scoggins delightfully goes off about anything and everything. He
badmouths Picasso and book-learning and glorifies the virtures of hard work, desire and
authenticity as the origin of true art.

Though Michelangelo's philosophizing is truly engaging, it's not sufficiently connected to
Harry, whose growth or changes aren't observable over the nearly two hours of "Michelangelo
Did This?"

While Duthie looks the part of a befuddled 19-year-old, he's never convincing. It may be
that Duthie isn't up to the challenge of the role, and it may be because Hain hasn't written
enough of a story to warrant any interest in the character.

That's the difficulty with "Michelangelo Did This?" While it has one engaging person with
some fascinating things to say, there are too many other folks whose commentary doesn't
add up, and, in the end, detracts from the main points at hand.

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