Author Rod Serling once admitted to making the hero of his American tragedy, Requiem for a Heavyweight, an aging prizefighter in search of a personal dignity because, “I thought there was particular poignancy in having an ex-fighter begin this kind of quest [since] his background provided him with the least possible chance.” Written as a teleplay in 1956, and viewed on the then-innovative medium of television, those narrow options were echoed by thousands of real-life war veterans likewise struggling to find their place in a society offering them few opportunities for restoration of communal pride or individual self-esteem. For a play set in the world of pro boxing, Serling's script—whether the original, or the subsequent 1963 screenplay—encompasses curiously few scenes of actual fisticuffs to acquaint us with the brutality of our dramatic universe. What Artistic Home director John Mossman has done, however, is to have the entire stage picture reflect the viewpoint of the protagonist. Thus the central setting is a canvas-covered mat on whose fringes other pugs congregate to exchange punches until the leather-on-leather smack of gloves on strike pads gives way to a veritable symphony of percussive volleys amplified by resounding metallic crashes suggestive of shocks to cranial bone. (If you ever wondered what a concussion must sound like to the person receiving it, this is a hint.) That person is played by Mark Pracht, a storefront-circuit regular whose bulky, six-foot-plus appearance has awarded him a number of amiable leading man roles in the past, but here is so wholly transformed as to be barely recognizable. The presence inherent in actors who take up copious visual space in studio-sized auditoriums like the Artistic Home's is still in evidence, but Pracht's skill set now includes nuance, both verbal and physical, enhanced by a physique thirty or more pounds leaner than before, making the most of hitherto-masked facial and body language. The result is a star-making performance sure to herald its perpetrator's entrance to the major leagues.
