“Without Walls,” now playing at the Mark Taper Forum, is a thoughtful play about a drama teacher and his relationship with two students. The three principals, led by Laurence Fishburne, deserve high marks in their craft. Fishburne, a Hollywood icon who is currently appearing in Mission Impossible III, teaches at a “drop-outs” high school. He himself is a drop-out of sorts who has given up his dream of Broadway stardom to become a teacher.
Fishburne uses a resonant British-ish voice, which makes you wonder whether he is affected or gay. He gives a remarkable performance, a little hammy, but it rings true.
He dances a little, he sings a little and he manages to have an impact on the lives of his students. This we discover from the way he handles two clueless rich kids who are enrolled in his class. He tries to bring the two together, hoping they will find the love they probably never found at home. These youngsters are played splendidly by Matt Lanter and Amanda MacDonald. Lanter, as Anton McCormick, feels he can get away with anything with his whining and cajoling and almost does. MacDonald, as Lexy Sheppard, is easy prey.
A well-written, clever work by Pulitzer Prize winner Alfred Uhry, the drama weaves its way around this unlikely triangle. The time is 1976 when there is an awakening about race and sex. The denouement is touching.
The set by Thomas Lynch and Charlie Corcoran is aptly sparse as befits the apartment of the lonely bachelor. Christopher Ashley, the director, adeptly moves the action along in one act without intermission.
His early stage background serving him well, Fishburne scales the heights.