I strolled into the auditorium to find a man already on stage, sitting at a brown wooden desk reading a book nonchalantly. Dim yellow lights, patrons chatting and finding their seats, and the sounds of Frank Sinatra’s “New York” and The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” filled the room.
As I nestled into my seat, I noticed a man on stage sporting a cadet grey shirt with a silver patch near this left shoulder. He was there for a while reading his book, flipping through the pages. He sat there as the play began. Unbeknownst to me, he was Jeff, the lobby hero.
“Lobby Hero,” a play by Kenneth Lonergan, was in production from March 6 to March 16 on the Suffolk County Community College’s Ammerman campus. The play was directed by Steven Lantz-Gefroh, a graduate of the Yale of Drama and the recipient of numerous Kennedy Center citations for excellence in direction, ensemble acting, and flight choreography. He also has played over 200 roles in theaters from London and the U.S., and has been honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
“Lobby Hero” touched on many themes: friendship, secrets, misogyny, racism, sexual assault, violence, murder and infidelity. However, the theme that stood out the most was the seemingly lack of morality from all of the characters. To be specific, the lack of morality of Jeff, who is considered the lobby hero.
The play circulates around Jeff, a security guard who works in a New York City apartment building. He learns from his boss William that William’s brother has been arrested and accused of murder and rape of a nurse. William also confesses that he has made up an alibi for his brother so that he can be released from jail.
Jeff learns from a police officer whom he has a crush on, Dawn, that William’s brother is going to be released because of William’s alibi. In an act of loyalty, respect and friendship for William, Jeff chooses not to disclose the information he has told him . After minutes of guilt-tripping from Dawn, Jeff finally exposes the truth. Jeff’s confession led to William’s brother being convicted of murder.
Merriam Webster’s definition defines a hero as “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities” and “one who shows great courage.” I struggled to understand how Jeff could be described as a hero. For me, I did not see Jeff or his actions as admirable. Yes, he shared William’s secret with Dawn. However, he had to be coaxed out of the lie and receive constant pressure from her.
In this example, I don’t think telling the truth shows great courage and is an achievement. I don’t think that Jeff inherits noble qualities. A potential ride-or-die, yes he is. A hero, absolutely not.
Lantz-Gefroh, the director, explained his perspective.
“Everybody ends up trying to do the right thing throughout the play and everybody screws up,” he said. “But it talks to the spirit of the heart and the sense of justice that people have, and what happens when they follow it the right way.”
In the Merriam Webster Dictionary, there’s another definition listed under ‘hero.’ It states, “a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.”
Mythical and divine, humans are not. We are flawed, like the characters in the play. Yes, real-life human heroes are flawed as well. Jeff did end up telling the truth, however, does that make him a hero?
Isabella Halpin, the 20-year-old actress who played Dawn, offered another perspective. “Maybe Jeff is a lobby hero but, also sometimes, I think maybe Dawn’s the lobby hero. She was like the only one who really wanted to know the truth.”
I could see that. Dawn very well could be the lobby hero, as she is the one who pressured Jeff into a confession.
After that, I talked to the man who played the lobby hero himself,
Gabriel Patrascu, the 27-year-old actor who played Jeff, said he believed his character “tries his best to be the hero that people don’t necessarily want, but they might need a chance to talk about certain things.” I agree. Jeff has the ability to make people feel comfortable enough to share what they truly feel, and what’s truly going on in their lives. Which is how he received William’s secret.
After getting opinions from the cast, I still don’t believe that Jeff is a hero. I think he simply displayed an act of heroism — an act that protected and brought justice to many people.
Rather than “Lobby Hero,” I would change the name to “A Heroic Act from A Lobby Security Guard.”
