I
didn’t think His Greatness could be topped until I stopped by the
Players Theatre to see Notes on the Land of Earthquake & Fire from
writer-director Jason Schafer, best known as the screenwriter of Trick.
In this smart, surprisingly dark Hollywood satire, Chad, an ambitious
gay assistant, unsuccessfully attempts to juggle a social life and the
outrageous demands of Alan, his movie studio bigwig boss, without
bursting into tears. When Alan’s spoiled preteen daughter isn’t also
pushing Chad’s buttons, Chad flirts with a handsome young producer
named Shane who shows up drunk at Alan’s beach house, promises Chad a
better job, and passes out naked after popping too many pills.

As
sexual politics and power struggles rage like the fires closing in
around them, some smoke begins to clear: Is Alan so hard on Chad
because of homophobia, or is there more to Alan’s relationship with
Shane than meets the eye? Juicy stuff! The play, which earned Schafer a
FringeNYC Playwrighting award, pretty much imagines how David Mamet
might write if he were gay -- or what Entourage would be like if Ari
Gold were having a secret affair with E.