Poster Boys: Love, Faith, and 'Brand Believing'

Caroline Larion is the middle-aged creative director at the local advertising company 'Zenspiration' and secretly in love with her younger assistant Brad. Together they've been hired by the Clearwater Bank credit union to create a queer-positive ad campaign that will both appeal to gay clients and celebrate the institution's value of social equality. Things get more farcical when the hired models for the advertisement turn out to be Caroline's ex-fiancee Jack and his new young male partner Carson, a devout Catholic. In the final layer of Poster Boys, the Church gets involved, pulling their funding for all Clearwater-endorsed events.

While the plot of the latest Arts Club original play could have some cynics muttering 'pop-fringe cliche', it's actually based on a true Vancouver story, circa 2003. Replace 'Clearwater Bank' with VanCity and you have the real-life controversy that inspired Michele Riml's new production at the Granville Island Stage, a rollicking rom-com-satire that resonates with this authenticity. Clearly the extraneous human drama is an artistic creation, and if poorly handled could make for a stale 'Sex & the City' reject... but it's sold entirely by a sharp script and some equally wonderful performances.

Obviously, such an acutely contemporary tale is ripe for social commentary. Although the targets are easy (advertising, image obsession, sexuality, and the church), there are enough memorable one-liners and moments of hilarity to justify the play's somewhat tired subject matter. Riml is clearly an adept playwright, and she successfully balances social satire, sexual farce, and convincing human sentiment. Although its two-hour running time does feel overstuffed, the narrative moves at a blistering pace and hits far more often than it misses, leaving Wednesday night's packed audience in continuous waves of laughter.

In the play's opening moments both Caroline's obsessive nature and Riml's in-your-face approach are made clear. While dressing herself in the morning, she's already consumed by the commercial work which lies ahead; singing the latest tag line, "Authentic Aging" with serene confidence as she madly pads her bra. The play is full of this blunt, oft-biting satire, and it's not long before we're treated to the co-slogan "Forty is the new Mommy" and an oz-echoing chant of "there's no place like Holts!"

Brad and Caroline's discussion of 'brand believers' and 'desire creation' is convincing within the play's cartoonish hyper-reality, while most of the gags and pop-culture references cause smirks at least; the best ones laughter and contemplation. The jokes and lampooning owe a lot of their success to a great performance from Lois Anderson, who makes Caroline's fall from confident commercial puppet-master to victim of her own mangled desires wholly convincing.

The energy level and enthusiasm of the entire cast is contagious, including standout performances from Daniel Arnold and Scott Bellis as Jack and Carson. The pair play the awkward note perfectly during the hilarious photo-shoot scene, as they search for an appropriate way to pose. Arm around the shoulder? Hand on the leg? With the lack of a go-to 'relaxed but loving' pose for gay men, the characters and audience are forced to question convention itself (in between the fits of laughter).

Poster Boys is the newest piece from North Vancouver playwright Michele Riml, best known for her 2004 Arts Club hit "Sexy Laundry", which has been produced across Canada and recently had its debut in LA. The play definitely feels like the work of a Vancouverite, with its homegrown story and local references, but I honestly would not be surprised if this production finds her securing a Hollywood movie deal. The subject matter is clear fodder for a million mediocre 'rom-coms,' but with Riml's strong writing, an adaption could be one of those rare, well-written 'chick flicks' that appeals to men, women, and critics alike...

Not everything works, however. When the jokes fly this fast, they can't all be winners; the poaching of Mazda's 'ZOOM!' and a recurring k.d. Lang gag feel just a little too obvious. Furthermore, scenes in which Caroline 'confronts herself'', carrying on conversations in an imaginary airplane with a look-alike played by Daniel Arnold in drag, feel half-baked; the airplane/fear metaphor forced and ungenuine. While this glimpse into the lead's mind is key, these scenes could have used some tweaking to take them out of the 'annoying' zone.

The direction and design are universally strong and actually quite unassuming, considering the play's gaudy subject manner. Effective and unobtrusive, director Andrew Mcllroy's choices don't do much to detract from the strength of Riml's script. Worth noting is Andrew Tugwell's sound design; an audio-only test panel reaction to the ad is riotously effective, and while the regular use clips from brassy pop-songs teeters on gimmick, they ultimately add to the entrancing, breakneck pace.

While the play is lacking in anything truly profound; its targets too wide and aims a little too lofty for its two-hour, comedy filled run-time, there's a hell of a lot of truth mixed in amongst the laughter. Hitting all the right notes on advertising and relationships, one can easily forgive the less developed religious commentary, arriving late in the play and seeming to exist more as a remnant of the original story than anything necessary to this tale.

Regardless, any kind of plot synopsis simply does not do this production justice. I was ready for the worst, but I laughed heartily throughout and was left with enough to chew on for some good conversation afterwards. The girlfriend liked it even more, and whether or not this play gets the flimic adaptation it begs for, Poster Boys is ideal Vancouver date material.

photos of Luke Camilleri & Lois Anderson (top/bottom) and Scott Bellis & Daniel Arden (mid) by David Cooper, courtesy of Arts Club Theatre

Poster Boys plays at the Granville Island Stage from April 2 - 26, tickets and times are available online