Sebastian Fernandez and Paul Tully (Photo by Michael Makara)
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Whitmore-Lindley Theater Center
Through November 23
RECOMMENDED
Tracy Letts’ Southern Gothic tale of murder, deception and greed among a foul-mouthed, ornery trailer park family premiered in 1993, and since then has sustained a fixed popularity with American theatergoers, even playing in London for two successful runs years ago. It was also made into a film in 2011 starring Matthew McConaughey in the title role, and was the last film directed by the late William Friedkin before his death.
The action takes place in a trailer park community on the outskirts of Dallas, and the family on display here is what is commonly referred to as “trailer park trash.” The patriarch Ansel (Paul Tully) is a fat dullard who treats his scheming wife Sharla (Brenda Banda) like dross. Her demeanor screams “loose panties,” and she loves to parade around nude or semi-nude, and has no shame about it. Daughter Dottie (Chelsea Newman) has an infectious innocence about her; she sleepwalks, and suffers from a severe case of arrested development. She also frequently erupts into ear-splitting laughter, and then retreats into a shell of silence.
But it is Chris (Sebastian Fernandez), and his life-threatening dilemma that lights the fuse here. He is a pot-bellied redneck, drug dealer and chronic loser who owes a lot of money to people you don’t trifle with. Desperate for a way out, he concocts a devious plan to have his mother Adele (who has just kicked him out of her house) killed so as to cash in on her 50,000 dollar life insurance policy.
Ansel has no love for his ex-wife and he goes all in on the idea. They enlist the services of Joe Cooper (a stellar Richard Gunn), a detective who side hustles as a contract killer. He immediately gives the impression that he is a man you don’t play games with, and his hard glare and icy disposition belie a feral lethality.
But the problem is that Killer Joe wants his money up front, and this plodding duo are flat, ugly broke — so he proposes an option: he will take Chris’s sister Dottie (Chelsea Newman) as a “retainer,” which amounts to Ansel and Chris pimping Dottie out to a killer. Joe and Dottie initially can’t overcome the tension between them, but gradually an eerie attraction develops into a romance of sorts. Though it is mystifying, the chemistry between the two is undeniable.
What could go wrong? A lot— and watching it all unravel as these luckless creatures are caught in their own web of greed and idiocy is a large part of the humor. Director Jeremy Luke draws robust performances from the cast (Newman is especially impressive), and skillfully balances the dark and light hues of the script (He also tastefully manages the nudity that frequently appears) The design elements are simple, yet effective: the lighting is cleverly nuanced, and the worn, grimy interior of the Smith’s trailer, accented by a tacky, patched-up sofa, is spot on, requisitely trashy.
Whitmore-Lindley Theater Center, 11006 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru Nov. 23. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/killer-joe-the-play-they-warned-you-about-by-tracy-letts-tickets-1722557559029 Running time: two hours with an intermission.
