Culture Club

I’m not sure it’s the mother of invention, but frugality can be a marvelous thing. Faced with hard economic times, theaters this year have relied on plays with small casts to help make ends meet. There have been several solo shows - a genre that requires its own measure of concentration and audience rapport. But a recent spate of two-person plays (two-handers as they are incongruously called) has been a source of riches for those willing to take them on. The latest is Ariel Dorfman’s Purgatorio, which is now playing at Next Act Theater. It may take a while to build up a head of steam, but the final half-hour is among the most riveting I’ve spent in a Milwaukee theater.

There’s a lot of “set up” in Dorfman’s play because its scenario is a bit complex, not to mention ethereal and abstract. We are in a vaguely defined “cell” in which a man is questioning a woman. It’s half "Law & Order"-style interrogation and half psychotherapy, but it is cagey and elusive about the events under discussion. Eventually, the roles switch, and we see the same dynamic, even as we learn more about the people and their predicament.

They are, more in spirit than in fact, Jason and Medea, that ready-for-Jerry Springer couple of Greek myth. They are there - in purgatory - to elicit each other’s forgiveness. But it is a test of wills that goes beyond the easy amends we’re used to seeing in dramatic stories. The power of Purgatorio, in fact, lies in the ability to move from the stage to the world - the two players might be people or nations. And the struggle is anything but ancient history.

Next Act captures the fierce power of the play with two terrific performances by two dynamic actors. Angela Iannone has a great affinity for Greek drama, and she builds her performance through the 90-minute play into some final moments that will take your breath away. David Cescarini begins in more muted, naturalistic style, which serves as a nice foil to Ianonne in the verbal back-and-forth of the early scenes. But he lets Jason’s drive shine through in the final scene, which adds much to the electrifying climax. It’s all beautifully orchestrated by director Mary MacDonald Kerr, who creates one of the truly memorable events of this year’s theater season.
 

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