JUST ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE TRAILER PARK

ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE TRAILER PARK

F. J. Hartland

A trailer park trash family in Texas hires a hit man to kill the mother in order to collect on her life insurance policy.

This is the basis for Killer Joe by Tracy Letts, the current offering from barebones productions.

Letts is well-known for placing dysfunctional families on stage (as in August: Osage County), but Killer Joe finds itself more deeply rooted in the Jerry Springer Show.

And you just know that when a family whose sum total IQ is about 100, their well-laid plans are not going to go smoothly.  In fact, it’s going to be a full-fledged disaster.

Directed by Kim Martin, the production finds the humor in this dark, dark story—making it something of a guilty pleasure.  One laughs, then feels badly for doing so.  She also keeps the show well-paced.

In keeping with past barebones productions, the talented cast is top-notch and the production values are very high.

John Gresh makes the ideal cuckolded husband in his grimy T-shirts and love of television.  For all his show of bravado, the father is a weak man (evidenced by his fear of the junkyard dog that is tied to the side of their trailer home).

Turning in a strong performance as the trashy step-mother is Lissa Brennan.  (When she sprays perfume up under her skirt, her husband refers to the area as “the gates of Hell.”)

The very tall John Steffenhauer (who has to duck for all his entrances and exits), convincingly portrays the not-too-bright redneck son Chris.  Chris is deep in debt to a vicious drug dealer.  He is also deep in love with his sister Dotty.  Dotty is a sleep-walking, sleep-talking young woman—who often seems comatose, even when she is awake.  Hayley Nielsen captures Dotty’s idiosyncrasies all while giving her an air of innocence.

Patrick Jordan plays Joe Cooper, who is a police detective by day, hit man by night.  Jordan is charming when the role calls for it—and terrifying when need be.  He also looks great without his clothes on (which is something of a barebones tradition now—not that I’m complaining).

Between scenes Pittsburgh music legend Joe Grushecky performs live—an added treat for theatre-goers.  The gritty sound of his brand of rock/blues makes for the perfect accompaniment for Killer Joe.

Douglas McDermott’s set is well-detailed, but seemed a little spacious for a trailer (maybe it’s a double-wide?).  I think a more confined playing space would have added to the tension of the show.  Scott Nelson’s lighting was appropriate, although one scene was terribly bright.  There are a number of “special effect” by Benzy—all of which looked quite real—not like staged “effects” at all.

It’s an excellent production; I just wish I liked the script.  Or even one of the characters.

Leave the kids at home as there is plenty of nudity, violence and graphic language.

Killer Joe continues through July 10 at the Hazlett Theatre. 

This entry was posted on 25. June 2010 at 15:39 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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