Averill's play opens with hit men Stark (Philip Sebastian Petrie) and the female Kline (Madonna Cacciatore) attempting to locate Gail Singer (Zoe Fitzgerald) on behalf of an entity known only as The Man (Shawn Law). Kline eventually breaks with her former partner and her employer, and leaves with Gail. Kline's resultant soul searching is the dramatic centerpiece of the second act.
What hampers Thugs isn't the plot so much as its execution. Characters are impossibly broad, making their actions arbitrary or uninteresting. The story's lurid aspects are tame -- violence is reduced to cap guns -- and the jokes that don't creak with age are wildly self-indulgent. Even the play's promising fantastic elements become an avenue for narrative cheating, as when Gail uses her drug-induced clarity to instantly analyze Kline.
Still, an energetic, experienced cast could have turned Averill's breezy language into a modest entertainment. Unfortunately, the very young cast avoids ensemble acting in favor of wildly divergent approaches by individual actors, destroying any chance for a cohesive tone. And some performances were just plain poor: Cacciatore managed to sound both strained and bored, resulting in labored, tedious line readings. Only Fitzgerald and Kathleen M. Urich, as the daffy nurse Simon, distinguished themselves by interpreting the text simply and investing their characters with simple, revealing physical touches.
Thugs may have played well in college, where the play was first performed, but no one outside of the classroom is impressed by putting slightly profane junk culture on its feet. For asking money to watch a play barely ready to be workshopped, the cast and crew of Thugs deserve a blackjack to the back of the head.
Thugs Needs a Good Whacking
