Fringe Review: The Art of the Con
The Art of the Con
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Stage 5 — Acacia Hall (10433 83 Ave.)
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Lest you think this production is some unsubtle satire of the American president's ghostwritten rulebook on how to abandon your morals to get ahead, well, actually, maybe there is something to that amid swirling echoes of the escalating unethical here.
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As he presents himself in this autobiographical testimonial, Kamal Alaeddine is a big guy with small dreams, namely to do as little as possible — ideally nothing — to make a living, indeed living in his mother's house.
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This hits a peak when his case worker says, 'You are so big, you're disabled!' then passes him off to Crysalis to help him find a fulfilling life.
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Mostly because it might annoy them, there are a lot of empathy-barren politicians I'd love to have watch this play, except that it would probably help justify their revulsion for the less fortunate.
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And maybe that's where this play turned me off a little. Don't get me wrong, I'm no prude, and fully grasp the cardinal rule that depiction (comedic or otherwise) does not equal endorsement. But as the free world sinks into kleptocracy on multiple fronts, it gets hard to root for a guy gleefully laughing about ripping off the system, down to the level of free bus tickets.
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