What has blackmail, sexy photographs, a gambling scandal and a boatload of Astins?
It's JHU Theater's latest production, Sam Shepard's Simpatico, directed by Joe Martin.
The play opens in Cucamonga, Calif. in the rundown, filthy apartment of Vinnie (senior Mike Wills), who, judging by his drunken and depressed demeanor, has seen better days, but not in quite some time. With him is the fashionably attired, well-groomed Carter (senior Scott Morse).
The two men reminisce about days gone by, from their childhood in Cucamonga to their ventures in raising thoroughbred race horses as adults. Clearly, though, these old friends went their separate ways some time ago, from the stilted way they interact in this first scene.
The action of the play spans only two days, but the story goes back 15 years, when they managed to evade investigation into some shady business they'd been conducting at the races. After that, Vinnie became a recluse, and Carter high-tailed it to Lexington, Ky. and started a family with Rosie (Laura Gordon). But now, the past has creeped back up on the duo: Carter's being blackmailed by his old pal Vinnie over some racy pictures.
From there, what unfolds is a tale of two cities, the action shifting between Cucamonga and Lexington, as Shepard conducts an intense analysis of the relationship among greed, guilt and friendship. Along the way we meet Simms (Mackenzie Astin), a retired racing commissioner who was featured prominently in the photos Vinnie now holds, and Cecilia (junior Lisa Rosinsky), a friend of Vinnie who has no idea what a tangled web she's just stumbled into.
Under Martin's direction, the entire cast performs admirably both as individuals and as an ensemble. Martin clearly knows his actors and his stage, with both being used to their full potentials. The director uses the entire space in any given scene, adding vigor and dynamism to Shepard's heavy, complex plot.
Unfortunately, the actors' movement is somewhat limited by the stage design: The stage is divided in half, with one half representing Cucamonga and the other, Kentucky. Most of the play takes place on one half of the stage or the other while the opposite set remains dark. While the design is innovative and certainly expedites scene changes, the drawback is that the cast, director and the set itself are limited by half in terms of what they can do on stage, and at times, the split stage resulted in a claustrophobic feel.
Still, the actors mastered the space they did have to use. Rosinsky, as the always bewildered Cecilia, captures the character's naive worldview in a way that is humorous rather than grating, and Gordon's boozey, debauched Rosie successfully drives the audience nuts (as the character is intended to do) with her flighty and flirty attitude.
For Wills, he is at his best when his role calls for a touch of the physical: Despite the intensity of the story, Shepard imbues the play with a substantial amount of humor, and Wills knows just how to combine the two. Who knew we had such a fine physical comedian at Hopkins? In one notable moment, Vinnie stands on his bed and jumps down to the floor, and Wills barely makes a sound upon impact (he must have practiced that!).
But the true stand-out performances in Simpatico come from Morse and Astin. Perhaps representing the conscience of the play as a whole, Astin's Simms is an insightful yet hilarious character. Astin gives an understated performance, delivering some of Shepard's best lines, and at the same time, garnered the most uproarious laughter.
As the tension builds through the play's seven scenes, no one shows it more than Morse as Carter. It's painful to watch him grow more and more desperate as he attempts to keep his carefully built life from crumbling due to just one mistake. In the harrowing final scene, Carter has fallen ill, and Morse spends the entire 15 or so minutes shaking violently, while still delivering his dialogue expertly.
Shepard originally wrote Simpatico in 1993 as a three-act play, but JHUT performs it in just two. Though more conventional for theater these days, the two-act format tends to make this play feel exceedingly long, complex and tedious. But if you're prepared to sit for a while without getting too fidgety, the production is surely one not to miss.
JHUT's production of Simpatico runs through this weekend at the Merrick Barn. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. To reserve tickets, call (410) 516-5153 or e-mail jhut@jhu.edu.
