Burn This

Renaissance Theaterworks has staged the hit of Milwaukee's spring theater season with a powerful production of Lanford Wilson's Burn This. Four terrific actors portray the full range of dramatic intensity in this incendiary play. Loss and love are strong emotions, after all. When they are intertwined, as Wilson artfully demonstrates, they can be as powerful as any force in nature.

The play's action is fueled by a wrenching tragedy -- the accidental death of a young dancer named Robbie. Robbie is never seen (since the play opens just after his funeral). However, a full-sized portrait of Robbie adorns the apartment where he lived with two soul mates. One of them, Anna, was Robbie's dance partner as well as his roommate. The other, Larry, is an advertising guy. Like Robbie, Larry is gay. This is where the 1987 play gets a bit dated, as mainstream tolerance for gay lifestyles is basically zilch. Anna remarks how none of the relatives she first met at the funeral would acknowledge Larry's lifestyle (despite the fact he died in a freak boating accident along with his gay partner). Instead, the relatives try to recruit Anna as the "girlfriend," which she says she assuredly was not. However, she didn't feel comfortable enough to "enlighten" them about Robbie's homosexuality, either.

While Anna recovers from the surreal atmosphere of Robbie's funeral, her patrician boyfriend, Burton, arrives at the apartment. Burton, a screenwriter, provides a strong, steady source of support for Anna. It is not surprising to learn that Burton has asked Anna to marry him. Although she demurred at first, her ticking biological clock is forcing her to reconsider. Not only is Burton swell to Anne, he also tolerates Larry's funny zingers and loony, off-the-cuff observations. The play picks up speed with the explosive predawn entrance of Robbie's older brother, Pale. He swoops into Anna and Larry's apartment at full blast, full of expletives, criticisms and nonsensical ranting. Anna, who lets Pale into the apartment, can hardly brace herself against the tirade. A month after the funeral, she thought no one was coming to pick up Robbie's things. Pale cruelly corrects her. Eventually, Pale is exhausted by all the coke and booze he has ingested. He sobs into Anna's arms. She tells him how she shares his pain. Loss turns to longing and soon they are lovemaking with equal ferocity. (Unlike his gay brother, Pale is incredibly macho and powerfully built). Pale is also married, which Anna doesn't learn until their night of lovemaking ends.

More complications ensue, forcing Anna to choose between Burton, her safe harbor, and bad-boy Pale. Although Anna has no idea where her relationship with Pale will go, she decides to risk it. The audience is left wondering whether Anna's choice reflects unresolved feelings for Robbie? Is this her way to "resurrect" the person she cannot replace? Director Kate Buckley brings these questions fully into focus as she fine-tunes the interchange between the four characters.

James DeVita is miraculous as Pale. Those who saw John Malkovich in the original Broadway production will recall seeing a star in the making. One can never forget his hurricane-force entrance. DeVita makes an equally strong impression, although he delivers a more balanced, less crazed version of Pale. This makes more sense in terms of the play. The fact that Anna chooses him at the end doesn't seem like such a train wreck-in-the-making.

On her part, Mary MacDonald Kerr (Anna) performs at her typically stellar level. Built like a dancer, she easily passes for the choreographer Anna is becoming. Her skin-tight outfits enhance the sexiness that Pale finds so appealing. And her face bears the scars of someone who has scraped by for a living. Even the larger-than-life DeVita can't pull the focus away from Anna (which is fairly remarkable). Gerard Neugent is a complete joy as the playful Larry. A supreme jokester, Neugent takes to the part effortlessly. But he doesn't overdo it.

One of the play's best scenes is when Larry and Pale finally make a human connection. It happens over breakfast. Pale, a restaurant manager for 20 years, demonstrates his skill in making a perfect pot of tea. It's a quiet, special moment between the two men. Although Burton is a lesser presence in the play, Brian Vaughn skillfully brings Anna's longtime lover to life. Vaughn makes Burton a likeable, well-dressed and well-spoken guy. One senses that Burton allows Anna enough room to blossom creatively. However, he is clearly no pushover when he discovers that the loud-mouthed Pale may replace him.

All in all, Burn This is clearly a "don't miss" production of Renaissance Theaterworks' season.