Grownups are playing games in Steven Dietz’s "Private Eyes," and nobody is quite what he/she seems. The drama, which is part romantic who-dun-it, part drawing room comedy, and part philosophical meditation, plays like a Chinese puzzle. Open one box and you’ll find another inside; open the second; find a third; and on and on it goes, a play within a play within a play within the mind of a psychiatrist. Under Mary Hausch’s explosive direction, the Hippodrome State Theatre’s production of "Private Eyes" sweeps from one surprise situation to another, with the audience caught off-guard every step of the way. Dietz has constructed the play without orderly, chronological sequence of events. Moving backwards and forwards in time, he takes his characters on a humorous ride, their destination: human truths that are revealed in tantalizing bits and pieces along its zig-zag road. Its protagonists, Matthew, an actor, and his wife Lisa are first seen on the vast, bare stage that serves as the play’s set. (Timothy Dygert is responsible for its clever design.) Lisa is trying out for a part as a waitress. Matthew is conducting the audition. But, as time passes it turns out they are playing at these roles – the play within the play has already started when Adrian, the director, appears to halt the audition. From this point the puzzle pieces become more complex and convoluted. Two more characters, Cory, a waitress and private eye, and Frank, a psychiatrist, come on board at different times. Each character is bent on learning the truth, but whose truth will it be? Is Lisa having an affair with Adrian, or is the affair all in Matthew’s mind? Does Lisa love Matthew? Adrian? Does Matthew tell the truth to Frank, his psychiatrist? And what does Cory search for as she titillates both Matthew and Lisa? From time to time, Frank interjects humorous comments on the nature of passion, fantasy and truth. As played by Sara Morsey, Frank has a wry, knowing manner that’s not only amusing but poignant and telling. "Private Eyes" tends to jerk audiences around throughout its playing time. All the same, viewers become willing participants in Dietz’s games. The Hippodrome production works like a sequence of beautifully timed fireworks, and the ensemble cast is nothing short of brilliant. Timothy Altmeyer and Karla Mason play Matthew and Lisa, the pair whose marriage is tested. Altmeyer is funny and melodramatic. Mason is multifaceted and appealing. As Adrian, the director who muddies the waters, Gregory Jones is in his element, giving a strong, cynical, insidious performance. Nell Page Sexton as Cory makes a fine waitress, private eye, scorned woman and prime plotter. Sara Morsey’s Frank holds the play together with her witty interpretation of a down-to-earth psychiatrist. Ultimately, do the play’s puzzle pieces fit together? In a weird, skewed fashion, they almost do, but it’s hard to be unaware of how much effort has gone into making the dramatic Chinese puzzle box. And, to use another old saying that pertains to a Chinese meal: It tastes delicious and satiates the appetite while you are dining. But an hour later, you’re hungry again. Wait an hour after you’ve seen "Private Eyes." See if it doesn’t go poof in your mind. |
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