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October 21, 2011

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The No. 1 Reason To See: Sons of the Prophet

by Jesse North

sons of the prophet poster stephen karam santino fontanaSome people are saddled with the responsibility of being the glue that keeps everyone together. Yet when that person is unsettled in his life, it inevitably affects everyone else as well. This is the case for Joseph, the center of Stephen Karam’s new play Sons of the Prophet. Played by Santino Fontana, Joseph takes care of his younger brother (their parents are dead) and their elderly uncle. He takes a job assisting an eccentric book publisher (Joanna Gleason) merely to have health insurance to pay for his ailing uncle’s medical bills. But when Joseph begins to feel pain in his legs, his undiagnosed maladies might be too much for him to handle.

The No. 1 Reason To See Sons of the Prophet: Santino Fontana’s well-built relationships
Fontana’s Joseph is a pleasant, responsible young man. He’s instantly likeable, even if he isn’t the most extraverted guy. Fontana plays him with an ever-present level of caring, which makes it difficult not to root for him. He watches out for his younger brother Charles (a delightful Chris Perfetti), yet dutifully keeps him in line. He dotes on his fragile uncle with the kind of care that suggests he might disappear at any minute, and also admonishes him for his politically incorrect outbursts. Joseph is trying so hard to keep what’s left of his tiny family together that we see he lets his own needs fall to the wayside. Joseph doesn’t get out much, and being a not-quite-in, not-quite-out-of-the-closet gay man, he doesn’t date either. When he does meet a guy at a bus stop and begins flirting with him, Fontana plays a great game of tug-of-war within Joseph, pulling back being mistrusting, and letting go and giving in to his desires. Fontana displays a slow build throughout Sons of the Prophet of the cracks growing within Joseph, and it’s displayed through his relationships. Perhaps the most touching is with Charles, which Fontana and Perfetti illustrate in a beautifully playful scene that quietly shows their close brotherhood. Scenes of comfort for Joseph are counteracted by his budding romance with Timothy (Charles Socarides), which asks more of him than he is able to give with everything else on his plate. Fontana creates a character that I was interested in learning more about long after the play was over.

sons of the prophet santino fontana stephen karam

Photo: Joan Marcus

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3 Comments Post a comment
  1. Con’t [14];people who got in the game in the 90′s era or earlier … can trade up or downsize with a nice equity cushion. Meanwhile the person buying their ‘starter’ home from them is using a 3.5% FHA.Another example of The Locust Generation eating their young.

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  2. Mert,güzel sözler için çok teÅŸekkürler. 3 yıl önce yazdığım ilk yazıda “birileri de beni okursa çok mutlu olurum” demiÅŸim. O noktadan baÅŸlayıp, senin yazdığın gibi, ustalarla birlikte bakılan blog olma seviyesine gelmek gerçekten güzel birÅŸey yaptığımı gösteriyor.Tavsiyelerini beklerim.SevgilerOburcanVN:F [1.9.22_1171]please wait…VN:F [1.9.22_1171](from 0 votes)

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  3. 23 octobre 2012Bonjour,Je souhaite savoir concernant les séances photos pour un enterrement de vie de jeune fille si vous êtes disponible le 13 juillet 2013Si c’est le cas, est ce que vous faites la seance en studio ou en exterieur ?, le nombre de participantes maximun et me confirmer le tarifMerci

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