Channeling TV rivals in 'The Farnsworth Invention'

Sep. 15--Originally a screenplay, Aaron Sorkin's "The Farnsworth Invention" might best be suited for the medium that is its subject. The invention -- one that Sorkin knows something about, having created "The West Wing" -- is television.

Except for the title character -- Philo Farnsworth, a

An earthy Steve McCoy has us rooting for the underdog inventor over the immigrant mogul David Sarnoff, who turns one of Farnsworth's rival inventors into an industrial spy. Michael Newman strikes a smooth CEO image -- reeking with tailored and coifed ambition. But we barely glimpse him beyond the context of his realization of TV and radio's potential for RCA and the world. Only Melanie Lipton as Sarnoff's wife lifts the veil when she confronts him with the acid truth: "You stole television."

Despite engaging performances under Ken Washington's crisp, move-it-along direction, the two adversaries -- each pleading their cases directly to the audience in alternate narratives -- turn those around them into accessories to the central struggle. Lauren Gobes, as Farnsworth's wife and mother of their son who dies of strep throat, injects flesh and blood into the fray. Gobes' real-life husband, Ray, makes an endearingly befuddled impression as young Philo's (Tom Meglio) high school science teacher. Ed Dennehy as the crusty investor in Farnsworth's project gives us a sense of his benefactor's naivete, while David Houston as the inventor's teammate shows the loyalty Farnsworth earned as a drinking buddy. Thom Christensen as the spy who steals Farnsworth's fuzzy breakthrough -- the image he coaxes, as seen on Peter Mussared's widescreen set, lacks commercial clarity -- leavens the villainy with boyish curiosity.

Which leaves us feeling that Sarnoff was no demon in the post-Enron/Bernie Madoff mode. Newman in his endgame soliloquy endeavors to persuade us -- whether successfully or not is up to you -- that an invention of the magnitude of television had many fathers, but only one orphan: Farnsworth, the farm boy who dared to dream.

WHAT Long Island premiere of Aaron Sorkin's "The Farnsworth Invention"

WHEN -- WHERE Thursday night through Saturday night at 8, Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. through Oct. 4 at the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. Main St.

INFO $16 to $28, students $18; smithtownpac.org, 631-724-3700

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