[NEohioPAL] REVIEW: "Cat's Paw" at Kent State Stark Theatre

[Tom Wachunas]

Cause and Affect
By Tom Wachunas
 
    “By giving in to our need to see mayhem, we
give more power to the terrorists. We are all part of this deadly triangulation
between the act of terror, the media coverage and the viewing.” – William
Mastrosimone
 
    The act of terror
that forms the backdrop for William Mastrosimone’s drama, Cat’s Paw, playing for one more weekend the Kent State University
at Stark Theatre Department, is a car bomb incident in Washington, D.C., that
killed 11 senators. The perpetrators are a tiny band of environmental activists
headed by Victor (John-Michael Roberts) under the flag of Earth Now.
    Desperate
for media attention to their clean water cause, they kidnap one David Darling
(David Sponhour), an EPA official they see as culpable in the deaths of
thousands of U.S. citizens due to water pollution, and hold him hostage in an
abandoned D.C. warehouse. Victor has his loyal compatriot, Cathy (Megan
Deierling), bring a local TV journalist, Jessica (Sarah Peters), to the
warehouse to do an interview. The warehouse here, by the way, is an effectively
gloomy set, strewn about with weapons and bomb-making ingredients, by scenic
designer Louis Williams). 
   What ensues over
the next nearly 90 minutes (no intermission) is a vexing polemical exchange between
reporter and terrorist - make that “eco-warrior,” as Victor insists. He’s easy
enough to hate when he utters such specious maxims as, “A car bomb is a moral
position.” John-Michael Roberts’ chilling portrayal of Victor is a mannered calculation
of an exasperated, cooly detached psychopath who seems really tired of spewing
his own misguided rhetoric. Other than in the “shocking and surprising” (that’s
debatable) conclusion of the play, his most animated moments come when he locks
horns with Jessica as they squabble about what should or shouldn’t be in her
video interview. 
    And if there’s
anyone who can argue with a sick mind, it’s Jessica, a self-possessed, vain and
manipulative celebrity wannabe. Her arrogance and ego are every bit a match to
Victor’s, and Sarah Peters plays the part with scary relish. But then, as the
story develops, it’s fascinating to watch her slowly and skillfully shed her
character’s cheeky artificiality and show signs of genuinely vulnerable
humanity. 
    As Cathy, Megan
Deierling is strong in an unexpectedly tender, off-kilter sort of way. She’s an
oddly principled terrorist (caring as much about seal pups as she does human
beings), and her feelings for Victor seem to add a dimension of fragility to
her demeanor.
    Speaking of
fragility, much of David Sponhour’s remarkably intense presentation of the
hapless Darling is an intriguing mix of woundedness and nervous if not
repressed guilt. His oft-repeated line of “May I ask a question?” in jittery
voice embodies the complicated heart of Mastrosimone’s writing.
    It’s not
surprising that we can be riveted by these proceedings and in some ways be
imprisoned by them. The play brings to mind how our culture seems pathologically
drawn to human disasters, and how easily our media can orchestrate our
collective, impotent tongue-clucking and gnashing of teeth. But Cat’s Paw isn’t about viable answers or
inspired responses to the horrific dilemma of terrorism, if only because we
have none. Yet. I wonder if Mastrosimone foresaw in 1984, when he wrote the
play (updated in 2010 with a few references to more contemporary incidents),
how the many questions and concerns it posed then would loom exponentially
larger in the new millennium?
    To be sure, this
is thoughtful, intelligent art. Then again, I’m reminded that it’s our best
thinking that got us here. And that is truly…terrifying. 
 
    Cat’s Paw, (for mature audiences)in the Fine Arts Theatre of Kent State
University at Stark, 6000 Frank Avenu NW, North Canton. Shows February 21 &
22 at 8 p.m., Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. Adults -$10, Seniors 55 and over - $7, KSU
students free with current ID. Call box office at 330-244-3348 
    For other
commentaries by Tom Wachunas on the performing and visual arts in the greater
Canton area, please visit ARTWACH at www.artwach.blogspot.com   
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