A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE

A smart, suggestive script meets a production
that can’t quite generate the heat it promises.

No, it’s not a typo. With a title guaranteed to make you double-take, Michael Van Duzer’s unabashedly gay new play, Incitation to the Dance, opened last Friday at Theatre West.

David Mingrino, Casey Alcoser, Michael GabianoMichael Gabiano, Casey Alcoser

Married, graying Malcom and Asher live a comfortable, if not terribly satisfying life. Malcom is a film professor and the kind of guy who sets aside, not a night, but an entire day to go through a DVD set of Deanna Durbin movies. Asher is an unemployed dance instructor, and has been for a while. One day, while Malcolm is out teaching, Asher receives a mysterious call; then, Finn, a sexy young go-go dancer who steams the wrinkles out of his cash, starts conspicuously scoping out their home. Malcolm invites Finn to live with them for as long as he needs, much to Asher’s chagrin.

David Mingrino, Casey Alcoser

Van Duzer’s intelligent writing, unlike a lot of new plays, doesn’t spell out everything that’s happening, making us work to put things together. There’s minimal exposition and no monologues, which is refreshing. The characters are appealing and the situation intriguing enough to keep me invested, even when the answers I wanted were stubbornly withheld. Throughout this domestic melodrama, Van Duzer intersperses Malcolm’s lecture on Gilda (1946), dance interludes, and silly diversions. It’s a bit like a variety show: if the current scene isn’t working for you, in a few minutes the show moves on to something more entertaining, and isn’t afraid to be a little nuts.

Michael Gabiano, Casey Alcoser, David Mingrino

Lean writing requires rich performances, which is where Incitation to the Dance falters. Van Duzer also directed, opting to make our couple a pair of plaid-wearing gay homebodies. They would make excellent neighbors, but aren’t very exciting on stage. That isn’t to say that I wanted to see ostentatiously “fabulous” gay men (in fact, I appreciated their ordinariness), but the characterizations did not convey the play’s conflicts. As written, Malcolm has clearly had some intense desire for Finn, but the most we see from him is a wistful smile. Asher worries about his attractiveness as he ages, but we don’t have any insight into his youthful past, via behavior, costuming, or some such. All throughout, I kept wondering what Finn saw in Malcolm, whom he pursues with mercenary sexuality that isn’t reciprocated. It wasn’t adequately explained in the text, so the lack of sexual electricity between the actors hampered the potential love triangle.

Casey Alcoser

The cast is game, but doesn’t delve very deeply into the roles. Michael Gabiano plays Malcolm as caring, yet content and aloof. Even though Malcolm has a permanent leg injury, Gabiano never looked at ease using his cane. David Mingrino as Asher had more to do, and his dancing would have been convincing, had he not had to dance with Casey Alcoser as Finn. Watching these two dance is to see the difference between a dancer, who is conscious of the way his body creates lines and curves from head to toe, and an actor who can execute choreography. Mingrino’s lack of dancing technique made me wonder if Asher was really a talentless unemployed dancer, as opposed to merely an unemployed dancer, muddying the plot. Alcoser can act and dance (while providing lots of eye candy), but his singing, in a recreation of “Put the Blame on Mame,” was tight and made me nervous.

Casey Alcoser, David Mingrino

Scenic design by Carter Vickers is serviceable, if a little confusing. Asher has home improvement projects, none of which, apparently, are fixing the living room’s exposed studs on stage left. Costume designer Michael Mullen made Asher and Malcolm appropriately dull, but had fun putting Finn in various states of undress (thank you!). Violence, delivered by fight choreographer Mel Glickman, was unexpected, brief, and brutal. Miles Berman’s lighting and video projection fleshed out plot points and the lecture, but the follow spot operator needs to work on his cue, which I wouldn’t have mentioned had it not been a significant moment in the play. Choreography by Stan Mazin is more involved than in most small plays, but looked hampered by the cast’s uneven dance skill.

Incitation to the Dance is not a great play, but it’s better than the production suggests. Besides, any play like this that has male nudity, a pie in the face, and well-timed lederhosen, is worth a look.

David Mingrino, Michael Gabiano

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photos by Carlos Hernandez

Incitation to the Dance
Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd W.
Fri & Sat at 8; Sun at 3
ends on March 15, 2026
for tickets ($30-$40), visit Theatre West or Eventbrite

for more shows, visit Theatre in LA

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David Mingrino, Michael Gabiano