By Larry Hembree

A small former punk rock bar on Assembly Street is scattered with overstuffed chairs, plastic tables for refreshments and bleachers for those who can’t afford prime-ticket prices. A welcome speech is made, and then a few stage lights illuminate to reveal a single-room set with a fireplace. Marjorie enters the set in nightclothes and both Extremities and Trustus Theatre begin.
 

Twenty-five years later in a large, smartly renovated warehouse in Columbia’s trendy Vista with more than 100 real theater seats, a hip bar and no bleachers, a speech is made by the same man and then many stage lights illuminate again to reveal a single-room set with a fireplace. Marjorie enters the room and Extremities begins again. It’s Trustus 2009.
Is William Mastrosimone’s 1982 violent drama still valid now? Absolutely. Trustus reprises the piece as a memento of its inaugural season two-and-a-half decades ago, but doesn’t contemporize the script. Instead, it simply permits the production to unravel itself as honestly as the playwright allows.

Marjorie, an intended rape victim, gets away from her attacker and confines him in her fireplace. Later, her two roommates return home to find Marjorie torturing her would-be attacker, her fury precipitated by the thought that this man will go free on technicalities. He says she can’t prove rape, but he can prove assault so she will be the one who goes to jail. Whatever happens, he promises he’ll come looking for her again. “I don’t want the taste of vomit in my mouth every time the doorbell rings” is her vow that she will not live in fear.

The nature of the conflict makes Extremities uncomfortable to watch at times. Through its thinly developed characters, it attempts to consider different societal aspects of violent crime: inequities in the criminal justice system, frustrations that can lead to vigilantism, and the permanent bonds that form between perpetrators and victims.

The script definitely has flaws, but director Jim Thigpen paces it fast enough to keep us from realizing how absurd the situation really is. The quartet of performers tries hard to make the playwright’s thin characters into believable people. Some are more successful than others.

As Marjorie, Monica Wyche is superb. Wyche fills every moment onstage with content, whether spoken or unspoken. Her innate ability to present a clear and seamless performance out of an inconsistently written character is quite amazing, segueing believably from complacent to violent to confused.

Chris Cockrell as Raul, the rapist, has the enormous challenge of spending more than an hour bound and blindfolded in a small fireplace while his fate is discussed in front of him. Even though Cockrell tends to stay too intense, he does a stellar job of listening and reacting honestly. Normally a musical theater performer, Cockrell does a noble job with this hugely complicated role.

Elizabeth Gray Heard presents Terry, the empty-headed roommate, simply. With a secret revealed late in the proceedings, Heard understands how to take a backseat until her moment comes. 

Altonia Chatman, the third roommate, has enormous stage presence but struggles to convince us of what her role is.  Portraying a sort of liberal social worker, she doesn’t use her material sincerely enough to fully develop the persona.

Extremities is the kind of production that will become stronger with each performance. Because of the intensity of the subject, each audience will likely react very differently to the work, leading the performers to gain clarity on exactly what the message is.
But one message is very clear, 25 years later: Trustus has given us yet another intriguing evening of theater. 

Performances are Wed-Thu at 7:30 p.m., Fri-Sat at 8 p.m. and Sun at 3 p.m. Ticket prices vary and can be purchased by phone at 254-9732, online at trustus.org or at the box office (Tue-Sat 1 to 6 p.m.) at 520 Lady St. in the Vista.