Through Sunday October 22
Cat’s-Paw, written by William Mastrosimone and directed by William Roudebush, feeds off the confined spaces offered by the Beck’s Studio Theater.
Cheri Prough Devol (scenic and lighting designer) and Carlton Guc (sound designer) have turned it into the perfect place to highlight this grim tale. Inda Blatch-Geib (costume designer) completed the picture with realistic outfits.
Before the story begins, we hear sirens and see flashing lights through the window. We often hear helicopters flying low overhead. We seem to be in a warehouse, and a rather large one at that since it has a separate area (offstage) where (we soon find out) a hostage is imprisoned.
When Victor (an assertive Chris Richards) is first seen terrorizing Mr. Darling (Michael Dempsey), a hostage from the Environmental Protection Agency, one’s first thought may be “Hope Victor doesn’t come into the stands for us too.”
Darling has been held (often handcuffed) for weeks, so by now he is well-trained. Dempsey conveys his character’s learned obsequiousness with chilling realism as we see him relish what little nourishment he’s given. (With a rationalization typical of Victor’s gang, Darling is told it’s for his own good because he’s too fat. Starving is good for him. They are helping him, not harming him.)
We come to understand that Victor, and those he has recruited, justifies any action — murder, kidnapping, suicide missions — to draw attention to their cause. They see their behavior as noble because their cause is just (where have we heard that before?). Their mission? To improve the environment by forcing the EPA to implement and enforce strict regulations.
The small cast of four seems larger as they fill the stage with acting chops. We watch, for example, Victor’s assistant Cathy (Grace Favarro) waffle between dedication to the cause and worry about all the people they are killing (federal workers, elected officials and some of their own crew).
When Cathy hauls in their latest captive, news personality and reporter Jessica (self-assertive Lara Mielcarek), we learn that Darling is kept alive as bait for news reporters. Broadcast news journalist Jessica has taken the bait. She and Victor indulge in back-and-forth lectures and self-righteous speeches, but it’s clear that just as Victor will do anything to win, so Jessica will say anything to provoke good copy (a win for her).
Fair enough.
There’s plenty of room for drama, and the environment is important to all of us, but after constant rants from Victor about how virtue drives him and justifies murder, he (and the playwright) lose credibility. He sounds like another of history’s self-interested ego-driven authoritarians — exactly like the ones he rails against.
Bottom Line: After a ninety-plus minutes long sit (no intermission), I began to feel like a captive myself, one subjected to lectures and (basically) justifications for murderous acts that claimed to be “for a good cause.” Hey, I remember the 1970s and 1980s too. While I wouldn’t recommend this play as a work of art, I do applaud the director, cast and crew who gave it as much cred as possible.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]