Sam Shepard

CCP brings us wild wild ‘West’

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By John Lyle Belden

There are a lot of people with love-hate relationships with their siblings. It’s a story as old as Cain and Abel. And what if, as in the Genesis story, despite all your hard work the divine blessing falls on your brother?

Placed in an all-American setting, this is the story of “True West,” by Sam Shepard, presented by Carmel Community Players at the Ivy Tech Noblesville Auditorium. Austin (Robert Webster Jr.) is working on a screenplay while housesitting for his mother (on an Alaska vacation) at her home near the Mojave Desert in California. At least he’s trying to work, as his estranged brother Lee (Matt Walls) constantly interrupts while hanging around the kitchen. Austin wants peace, Lee wants the car keys. Austin is developing his script, Lee has been casing the neighborhood for TVs and appliances to steal.

Austin’s Hollywood agent, Saul (Gary Curto), visits to check up on the writing, and comes under the fast-talking influence of Lee. The next day, there’s an offer on a script – but it’s not one Austin wants to write, or that Lee can, as much as he wants to.

The play unfolds in a darkly comic manner as the two brothers bicker, switch activities, and drink – a lot –manifesting in what will be for Missy Rump, both playing Mom and as assistant director and stage manager, one hell of a mess to clean up.

Director Eric Bryant gets the best out of actors truly playing to their strengths: Webster as the embodiment of noble intentions seeming to lead nowhere, Walls as one whose intimidating glance is backed by a sharp mind. Add alcohol and stress, and their flaws come to the surface in (for them) maddening and (for us) entertaining fashion.

Regarded as a modern classic, with hit Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Steppenwolf runs, “True West” is one of those plays everyone should see at least once, and this production fits the bill.

Performances are Thursday through Sunday, April 27-30, at 300 N. 17th St., Noblesville. Get info and tickets at CarmelPlayers.org.

– P.S. Yes, it is odd for a “Carmel” company to play out of town, but you can help bring them home to a stage of their own. See website for details.

Catalyst’s ‘Tooth’ gives us much to chew on

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By John Lyle Belden

When you enter the Grove Haus theater to experience “Tooth of Crime,” presented by Catalyst Repertory, you enter another world.

It’s a dystopian potential America of the 2080s, a Mad-Max atmosphere in which the battles aren’t over oil but fame – and your place on the rock ‘n’ roll charts. Those on top find themselves “marked,” with life and death consequences.

Hoss (Davey Pelsue) is an aging Marker at the top of The Game. He respects the Code, as well as the country and blues musicians that inform his down-and-dirty rock style. He doesn’t test the wrath of the Keepers, but is not too happy that other performers are bending the rules, especially Gypsies who don’t abide by the Code at all.

Vexed and paranoid, Hoss fires his stargazer, Mirra (Ryan Powell), for advising him to be cautious. A Deejay, Rudio Ran (Jay Hemphill), reassures him he’s still on top, but he suspects it’s flattery. His manager and girlfriend, Becky Lou (Sarah Hoffman) is worried, and the drugs Doc (Nan Macy) give him make him even more unmanageable. Then, right-hand man Chaser (Zach Stonerock) informs Hoss that a rival has marked him, and a Gypsy by the name of Crow (Adam Tran) is on his way to do battle. Chaser finds an impartial Ref (David Molloy) to adjudicate.

The culture of this play has its own dialect – though after a while you can “suss” it out – and the duel is mainly psychic, through words spoken and sung. Though they brandish guns and knives, Hoss and Crow strive to break each other’s mind and soul before fatally attacking the body.

For the audience, this requires paying close attention as much as possible, but not getting too concerned that you can’t tell exactly what’s said or even going on. This drama with music was written by Sam Shepard in 1972 and rewritten in 1997, which helps explain its vibe being somewhere between “Easy Rider” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” filtered through Greek tragedy.

This show isn’t for everyone, but if you go with it, you can witness a stylish indictment of the corrosive nature of celebrity, and experience the passion that Pelsue and his castmates put into their performance. Hoss practically sweats every word and lyric he utters. Crow is like a preening bird, but with a dangerous edge even when knocked off-balance.

An on-stage band provides excellent accompaniment to the show’s proceedings. The music was provided by Shepard, with additions by T Bone Burnett in the 1990s, and director Casey Ross found a more recent hit to finish the play.

Performances are Fridays through Sundays through Feb. 26 at 1001 Hosbrook St., near Fountain Square. Get info and tickets at uncannycasey.wix.com/catalystrepertory.

John L. Belden is also Associate Editor and A&E editor of The Eagle (formerly The Word), the Indianapolis-based Midwest LGBTQ news source.