Little Theatre’s ‘Pillowman’ fascinating yet flawed

It's tough to harsh criticize a production by Poor Richard's Players, especially one directed by Lysander Abadia. This inventive company puts on consistently professional work and is a great asset to Las Vegas' arts community.

So, at the risk of contradiction, I feel a need to salute their production of "The Pillowman," now at Las Vegas Little Theatre, while at the same time providing a laundry list of objections.

Martin McDonagh's 2005 script is a fascinating tale about a fiction writer whose crime tales resemble, a little too closely, actual unsolved murders. Totalitarian state officials are torturing him to find out what he and his mentally challenged brother know about the cruel killings.

What's intriguing - apart from the brilliant dialogue - is how McDonagh succeeds in shifting our allegiance. While the officials are brutal, it winds up they may actually have good reasons for their actions. And just when we may be on the torturers' side, we get more information that has us again pondering the difference between right and wrong.

Abadia is wonderful at moving action along and coming up with inventive ways to tell a story. He also demonstrates a remarkable ability to cast. The leads - Benjamin Loewy as the writer, Sean Critchfield (double cast) as his brother, Cory Gable as the seemingly unfeeling policeman and Thomas Chrastka as the seemingly kind-hearted detective - are actors of depth. They all have their share of riveting moments.

But ...

Loewy tries too hard to project sustained panic. Critchfield is a wonderfully likable dimwit, but his never-changing mannerisms make him monotonous. Gable is rich in inventive line readings but comes across as a clever actor rather than a genuine character (and it's obvious he doesn't understand how smokers smoke). Chrastka is never able to establish himself as a three-dimensional human being.

Abadia tacks on a prelude and finale that does nothing but overstate the play's themes. Either he doesn't trust the script or he's too eager to demonstrate directorial cleverness. Too bad. He's too talented to succumb to this kind of showing off.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.