A new group called BDI 361–a name taken from a member`s license plate
–is making its debut at the Organic Lab Theater via two one-act plays, Lanford Wilson`s ”The Sandcastle” and David Higgins` ”Partners.”
It`s a modest but sometimes engaging evening. Wilson`s play, an obscure piece originally written for television, has its tiny share of the brilliance that invigorates so much drama by that playwright. Higgins` piece is a slight but juicy bit reminiscent of O. Henry and set in the grimy world of Pittsburgh drug dealers.
The Wilson comes off the better. It tells of a California seaside family, another extended band of eccentrics Wilson so likes to specialize in. There`s a widowed mother (Diana Zimmer); her daughter, Joan (Kathleen O`Grady); her sons, Owen (David Williams) and Kenny (Jason Moser); two friends of the family, Sasha (Francesca Rollins) and Calvin (James Krag); and a boyfriend
(Harry Carson).
Wilson makes all this tender, funny and poetic, and the excellent cast each rise to their moments when asked to peel off a layer of gloss and reveal underlying ugliness or passion. O`Grady and Rollins are quite a pair of ingenues–the former a sensuous, sensitive blond and the latter a pert, sassy, sharply comic brunette. Although she starts a little weak, Zimmer finally erupts with a riveting force. Krag and Williams are convincing and passionate, while Moser, a high school sophomore, is terrific.
What begins as a bustling interlude with a lovable, eager, fun-loving bunch soon melts into an assortment of arias, revealing not so much secrets as deep, inner wounds. The daughter is a nymphomaniac who seduces her mother`s boyfriend; Calvin, whose unseen wife is pregnant, is a determined bully who tries to seduce the other family pal, Sasha, who happens to be frigid; and the idealistic Owen is brutally tormented by his own isolation and his hopeless fantasy for Calvin`s wife.
Higgins` work–an irresistibly seedy slice of drug life–gets a capable mounting. Set in a transient hotel, the story concerns Troy (John Gaynor) and his meeting with two betrayed buddies (Aaron Cabell and Neil Wilson) who plan to kill him. Instead, Troy has a gruesome little surprise ready to undo their plan. Although they miss some layers of menace, the actors get the point across, and, in one harrowing moment, manage a bit of nifty stage trickery–a dart goes sailing perilously close to the face of one of the players.
Director Richard A. Barletta gets better motion and emotion from the
”Sandcastle” segment. In that work, his sprawling lack of organization suits the piece. But the blocking in ”Partners” is an annoying carousel around the hotel room, making for some unbelievable movement. Set designer Brian Traynor, gifted with an imaginative eye for detail, gets high marks for both sets.
”PARTNERS” AND ”THE SANDCASTLE”
Two one-act plays by David Higgins and Lanford Wilson, respectively, directed by Richard A. Barletta, sets by Brian Traynor, costumes by Renee Liepins, lighting by Sue McElhaney. A BDI 361 production that opened Thursday at the Organic Lab Theater, 3321 N. Clark St., and plays at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, through Sept. 7. Length of performance, 2 hours. Tickets are $4 and $5. Phone 327-5321.
