left to right:
Julia Sun, Chris Triana, Wesley Curtis, Michelle Cox
Some plays require that you put yourself in their mood; others demand thought. Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Den of Thieves, currently running at the Chernuchin Theatre, is the latter kind of play. This dark comedy invites you to confront people suffering from addictions and desperately trying to reclaim their lives. Under the canny direction of David Triacca, it is both a jaw-dropping journey and a powerful meditation.
Guirgis has written more profound plays, but hardly any in which his temperament and the fictive situation are so seamlessly conjoined. In Den of Thieves, Guirgis reveals his personal demons, his familiarity with street-life, and, most importantly, his compassion for the pariahs of society. Guirgis has a penchant for identifying with life’s losers, and the denizens of this story are twisted souls whose weak choices have imprisoned them in a self-made hell.
The play’s action begins in complete darkness, with the audience listening to a person letting out a series of loud, drawn-out moans. As the lights come up, you see Paul standing behind a seated Maggie, giving her a vigorous neck-and-back massage. Both are in their early 20s. “I feel so stupid right now –,“ says Maggie. This first line of dialogue pretty much captures the emotional make-up of most of the play’s characters.
In Act 1, we learn that Maggie, a “recovered” kleptomaniac, has just suffered a major relapse in an afternoon shoplifting spree. Paul, a former kleptomaniac and leader of their support group, is trying to help her to regain her psychological equilibrium. Once Maggie calms down enough to confess her crimes, she shows Paul her stolen goods, including his wallet that she pick-pocketed from him during their elevator ride. Taken aback, Paul proceeds to level with Maggie about her stealing addiction. Their conversation is cut short when Flaco, Maggie’s ex-boyfriend and drug dealer, arrives on the scene. Flaco still carries the torch for Maggie, even though he’s already shacking up with a topless dancer called Boochie, who soon enters in her skimpy nightclub outfit. The four of them are a lethal combination. Flaco, using his charisma, persuades Paul that he has a fool-proof scheme that will make them all financially secure. But that’s all that I will disclose here, so that you won’t be robbed of the evening’s surprises.
The cast merits much praise. Special commendation is due for Wesley Curtis, as Paul, who somehow manages to fuse the optimistic and psychologically damaged parts of his character. Julia Sun, as Maggie, smartly displays both the bright and dark side of a recovering kleptomaniac. Chris Triana, as Flaco, couldn’t be more convincing as the wise-cracking drug dealer. And Boochie, as the tacky nightclub stripper, is suitably dumb and weirdly likable. Early on, I wondered if she could pull off her sleazy role, but her final come-hither scene is a real knock-out. In lesser but still riveting roles, Ralph John Lucci’s Little Tuna, Giovanni Rho’s Sal, Peter Carlaftes’s Big Tuna are ably acted. Moreover, these supporting actors look like they are having a terrific time on stage.
For those who have not seen this noir comedy staged, it is worth seeing now. For those who have seen other Guirgis’s plays on stage, like The Little Flower of East Orange or Our Lady of 121st Street, this production will allow you to have a better sense of the playwright’s dramatic range. Guirgis has a gift for finding the poetry in hard-edged urban language and street-savvy characters who can speak universal truths. Little wonder that his work has traveled to five continents and been staged in prominent venues across the country.
The big shortcoming of this production is that it is in such a limited run. Theatergoers, and fans of Guirgis’s plays, will likely learn about this show after it shutters on August 29th. As the first production of the Glen Hagen Theatrical Production company, one can only hope that more good productions follow this Den of Thieves. It might be the dog days of summer, but this production couldn’t be fresher.
Chenurchin Theatre at the American Theatre of Actors, at 314 West 54th Street.
Tickets are $24-$27. Phone (212) 868-4444.
For more information, visit http://www.denofthievesnyc.com
August 19th through August 29th.