Sam Sheperd’s classic tale of sibling rivalry stars Gregory Lush and Mike Schraeder. (Photo Courtesy of Contemporary Theatre of Dallas)
At the Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, self-destructive art has taken on a whole new meaning with their production of “True West.”
The classic Sam Shepard play about sibling rivalry opens on Austin (Mike Schraeder) and Lee (Gregory Lush) in the kitchen of their mother’s house, where they are staying while she vacations in Alaska. Contention runs high between the two brothers from the moment the lights come up.
Lee is the prodigal son, who spends his life roaming the desert; Austin has accepted a more straight-laced life and has been working on getting his screenplay produced with a Hollywood big-wig Saul Kimmer (T.A. Taylor).
Lee’s arrival threatens the stability of Austin’s life and their forced proximity underneath the roof of their mother’s home causes everything to deteriorate.
By the end of the play, their mother’s plants are dead, the stage is strewn with alcohol and Lee has demolished Austin’s typewriter, and their very lives are hanging by a thread.
Director Cynthia Hestad has given this complex and difficult play a quicker pacing than usual, which allows the comic timing of Schraeder and Lush to really shine.
The lack of pregnant pauses not only keeps the run time down, it also brings out the humor in the brother’s relationship, which could easily be overshadowed by Lee’s manipulative anger.
This choice throughout the play reverses the significance of Mom’s entrance in the last scene, when she arrives home early from Alaska. What could be considered one of theater’s greatest comic entrances, feels poignant and distressful.
Laura Yancey captures the humor of the character, but also brings a great deal of sadness to the role. Her demand that her sons fight outside of the house and her plea as she retreats to a motel “I can’t stay here, this is worse than being homeless,” are heartbreaking.
For the most part, these decisions serve the production well, but some of the shorter scenes felt rushed, which gives the play an awkward energy.
This is easily ignored in light of the strong performances from the four actors in the show and the humor that feels so true to life.
“True West” plays on CTD’s stage through Feb. 27. Student rush tickets are available for $10, 15 minutes before curtain time.
For more information visit, contemporarytheatreofdallas.com.
