Angry Fags' seeks to balance warm realism with dark satire

• Courtesy of 7 Stages
• I JUST WANT TO KILL PEOPLE - IS THAT SO WRONG? Johnny Drago and Jacob York

Filmmaker Spike Lee brought his controversial classic Do the Right Thing to a close with competing quotes from Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. The Malcolm X passage concludes with the words, "I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don't even call it self-defense, I call it intelligence."

Topher Payne's Angry Fags, playing through March 17 at 7 Stages, never repeats the Malcolm X quote, but it seems to echo in the conversations of its characters, particularly two young Atlantans who consider violence as a means of opposing gay bashers and bigoted politicians. The title indicates Angry Fags' eagerness to inspire debate in its audience, although the play's ambitions as a provocative satire can clash with the warmth and credibility of its characters.

The play centers around Bennett Riggs (Jacob York), a soft-spoken speechwriter for openly gay Georgia state Senator Allison Haines (Melissa Carter). Still recovering from a bad breakup, Bennett hangs out with his more flamboyant roommate Cooper (Johnny Drago), with whom he trades snappy banter. The play's instigating incident occurs when Cooper returns home one night, crowing that he saw Bennett's ex-boyfriend boozily embarrass himself over an uncouth patron at their favorite gay bar. Their schadenfreude turns to shock when Bennett's ex-boyfriend is found comatose in an alley, having been savagely beaten.