ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE Michael Giltz Freelance writer GET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ Follow Harvard University , Gay Rights , Harvard , Drama , Gay Pride , Theater , Unnatural Acts , Unnatural Acts Play , Entertainment News 13 45 3 7React Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: Harvard's Secret Gay Shame in Unnatural Acts UNNATURAL ACTS *** out of **** CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY In 1920, when a one-time student of Harvard committed suicide, it sparked a secret investigation and witch huntto weed out all "inverts" and "homosexualists" from campus, ultimately damaging or destroying dozens of lives.</p><p> A series of articles in the Harvard Crimson about the files of "Secret Court, 1920," sparked nationalattention in 2002 and ultimately this play by PlasticTheatre.</p><p> Inspired by the articles, original documentssuch as the transcripts of the trial, letters written at thetime, diaries and other information, Unnatural Acts is well-acted, well-directed and often thrilling for the first act, only faltering in the second when it stops presenting to us what happened and starts telling us howwrong it was.</p><p> If you make a play about slavery or the subjugation of women in this day and age, you don'treally need a speech telling us how wrong it is.</p><p> And if you do make that speech, you best deliver it in avery original manner.</p><p> Presented with CSC's usual care, Unnatural Acts moves swiftly in its first act, thanks to the direction of Tony Speciale, who is also credited with conceiving the show, which was written by Members of Plastic Theatre.</p><p> Here's Speciale talking about the work.</p><p> FOLLOW USSeptember 15, 2011 Signs Your Husband Is GayKirstie Alley Walks NYFW The Alexander Wang PartyKnightley Gets Dangerous EDITION: U.S.</p><p> Like 43 Posted: 06/24/11 04:13 AM ET SHARE THIS STORY Submit this story Get Entertainment Alerts Sign UpPHOTO GALLERIES CONNECT FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT TECH MEDIA LIFE & STYLE CULTURE COMEDY HEALTHY LIVING WOMEN LOCAL MORE Like 40KTelevision Mad Men Jersey Shore Scarlett Johansson BlackBerry 101 More Log inWe quickly meet the circle of friends who congregate in Perkins 28, a room where gay romps take flight or more to the point, where the men feel free to discuss the possibility of gay romps or just be themselves.</p><p> Edward Say (a nicely fey Jess Burkle) is the clearly gay sort of man who brazens it out by never trying to hide his specialness, to the point of wearing rouge.</p><p> His stiff but curious roommate Joseph Lombard (played by Will Rogers, who has a great name and an appropriate understated delivery to go with it) both warns Edward about seeming "too much" but is also drawn to the brash boys almost as much as he's silently drawn to unattainable jock Kenneth Day (Roe Hartrampf, convincing in every way as a conflicted object of desire).</p><p> Ernest Roberts (an excellent Nick Westrate) is the ringleader who oversees their fun, donning a woman's dress more to make a point of outrageousness than anything else.</p><p> When the suicide of their friend ispresented as a tragic accident, Ernest thinks it's just a bump on the road to graduation (having your father be a powerful Congressman can only reinforce the invincibility assumed by youth).</p><p> Little do he and the others realize that letters -- incriminating letters -- were found and passed along to the university.</p><p> Throughout the show, when the actors are not performing they line the sides of the stage, serving as mute witnesses.</p><p> They and the audience see Nathaniel Wolff (Joe Curnutte) offer to provide some actingtips to Keith Smerage (Frank De Julio), a transfer student and comely lad.</p><p> They work on a passage fromJulius Caesar that works wonderfully.</p><p> Keith's performance is both subtly fey and not in the proper grand manner.</p><p> So Nathaniel teaches him how to deliver the passage the way Harvard thespians do (with lots ofgesturing and acting out of words that seem silly to our modern eyes) while obliquely trying to get Keithto butch it up without actually saying so.</p><p> And of course he gets to touch Keith now and then to guide himalong, just to help out of course.</p><p> It's a wonderful section indicative of the play's rich material: we get aglimpse of amateur student dramatics that reminds us of the era we're in and how foreign it is to ourtime.</p><p> We also see how even two young men at one of the top universities in the country -- men who should feel confident and flush with knowledge and growing power -- would be afraid to broach the topic of masculinity and how not to appear a nancy boy to others.</p><p> And we see them slowly dance towards aseduction they both seem to want but are afraid to voice.</p><p> Desire quickly turns to fear when a raucous party towards the end of term is followed by the men being called in one by one and asked remarkably blunt questions.</p><p> When even men who still often speak in codeabout sex with their closest friends are asked by administrators if they masturbate, you feel the shock ofhow intrusive and remarkable and frightening such a question would be.</p><p> The play is at its best as the men flirt and talk and deal with the painful death of their friend, speaking boldly when no one else is around and putting on a brave face when pressure starts to mount.</p><p> The trialscenes are especially vivid, with student after student dealing with the pressure of the assault in ways wecan always understand and empathize with, even when they're offering up names in a desperate attemptto salvage their lives.</p><p> And it's very clear their lives will for the most part be ruined.</p><p> Max Jenkins is especially good here as Stanley Gilkey, a staunch survivor who cleverly portrays himself as merely researching "the homosexualist" for a career in criminology and ready and willing to offer any assistance he can.</p><p> Watching Gilkey flounder when he inadvertently mentions a banned text on homosexuals is the only chink in his otherwise unflappable armor.</p><p> He gets the biggest laughs of the nightmerely by almost -- almost! -- crossing his legs.</p><p> A genuine peak is reached when we see different students grilled simultaneously, each one having to respond to the accusations and confessions of another.</p><p> This works most effectively when Keith is shownauditioning that speech from Shakespeare where he talks of betrayal while Nathaniel gives him up to the MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 'Web Cam 101 For Seniors' Turns Oregon Oldsters Into YouTube Celebrities Scarlett Johansson Nude Photos Prompt Investigation SHOCK VIDEO: Debate Audience Says Uninsured Patient Should Be Left To Die Celestrellas: Angola named Miss Universe 2011 - show recap (PHOTOS & VIDEOS) AOL TV: Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher & Angus T.</p><p> Jones Talk 'Two and a Half Men' Season 9 (VIDEO) Ten Signs Your Marriage 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Like 115K Like 87 Like 64K Like 2K Like 453 Like 2K Like 111 Like 3K Like 1K Missoni For Target Merchandise FloodseBay Scarlett Johansson Contacts FBI AboutHacked Nude Images Scarlett Johanssonadministration.</p><p> When Keith breaks down and describes how he has felt seduced by Nathaniel and so many men before that, we get another layer of insight.</p><p> We understand how a man who has been told allhis life how terrible being gay is might indeed see his attraction to other men as a curse where those menrelentlessly approach him, how he might just want a friend but finds himself again and again in thecompany of men who want something more.</p><p> We know his true nature, but can feel a heartbreak for howsomeone like Keith can be taught to hate themselves and might then feel victimized by his own desire and blame it on the men who he wants just as much as they want him.</p><p> By the end of Act One, I was convinced this had the makings of a truly special night.</p><p> The problem, in part, was the break.</p><p> This play's descent into the nightmare of the trials would work better withoutinterruption.</p><p> Further, we don't really need any speeches telling us how wrong all this is, but we get notone but two.</p><p> One is delivered melodramatically by Devin Norik as Harold.</p><p> The other is much moreeffective, as performed marvelously by Brad Koed as our narrator Eugene Cummings, who spends theentire play slowly coming to life until his final impassioned plea.</p><p> It, however, is undercut by having therest of the cast appear onstage during his speech in a series of dramatic, choreographed movements both completely out of character from how the rest of the show is directed and distracting from the genuine fireworks Koed is providing all on his own.</p><p> Eugene also features in a scene that must have been irresistible given the facts that presumably support it, but feels from a different play altogether -- there was no real mystery about why the investigationbegan if you gave it a moment's thought, so revealing that info and tacking on some violence merelydrums into us a point that had already been made more eloquently before.</p><p> Ditto the scenes where we'retold the obvious -- that there's no happy ending for these men.</p><p> Despite the flaws of the second act, Unnatural Acts is a strongly acted play that showcases a lot of talent.</p><p> Beyond the excellent cast, Walt Spangler's set seems ideal, Andrea Lauer's costumes flattering and convincing, the lighting by Justin Townsend superb at navigating the shadowy tribunals, and the music and sound design by Christian Frederickson evokes the era well.</p><p> When the real fates of the people involved are delivered at the end, it's a credit to the show's effectiveness how moving those simple factscan be: shattered lives, dashed dreams, and sometimes triumph (however compromised), all sparked bythe suicide of someone who had given up hope.</p><p> The Theater Season 2011-2012 Broadway By The Year: 1997 ** 1/2 out of **** One Arm *** Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark * 1/2 Unnatural Acts *** Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.</p><p> Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and alsoavailable for free on iTunes.</p><p> Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.</p><p> Note : Michael Giltz was provided with free tickets to this show with the understanding that he would be writing a review.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Sponsored Links What is Scientology Think For Yourself and Find Out for Yourself.</p><p> Scientology.org #1 Snoring Solution New solution that allows medical insurance to pay for remedy. www.WhyYouNeedtoKnow.com College - 100% Online Be more employable! 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