notanotherbookreview

WANNABEAT by David Polonoff (Trouser Press Books, June 13).   WANNABEAT 's hero in late 1970's San Francisco, Philip Polarov, is on the "make" for women, money, and the elusive zeitgeist of inspiration--the authentic Beatnik poets of countercultural fame. He spots the occasional luminary at City Lights' bookstore (the historic poet's mecca founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti) and among the burnt-out denizens of North Beach cafes. Yet Philip is not a Beat groupie. He feels the true flame of  purpose and the sting of  Jacques Derrida's Deconstruction Theory ( "the meaning of a work is unstable and could have multiple alternative meanings, so the meaning could easily be the center as it could be the margins..."  ).  Philip could be a player or not.  Desperately, he looks for an impetus to ignite his "stream of drivel" into the work of a  literary contender. Meantime his is the itinerant life of a wannabe artist, chasing down risky and/or ted...

  THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE by Ashley Griffin , directed by Rachel Klein produced by New York Rep at Royal Court Performing Arts Space, 145 West 46th St., 3rd floor. Through June 15th THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE   is a courageous play on target for these ultra commodified times, when sex, if not love, is yet another "market" to be navigated for strategic advantages--status, finance.  Eloise, played by Ashley Griffin, and Will, played by Danny Garner, are magnificent combatants except that this courtship is a work for hire.   Historically, in this "man's world," marriageable girls (Rapunzel anyone?) were locked up for their own good. "No man marries a cow, if he already has the milk" was the basic idea of  women's value. Whether rich or poor, around the globe, legacies were at stake. Yet Eloise's conundrum is emotionally like Rapunzel. Unable to leave her tower, she hires Will, a sex professional Though women are sometimes accused of being obsessed with...