Threat 

Reviewed by Lara J. Altunian
The Whitefire Theatre 
Through May 5  

RECOMMENDED 

What kind of person becomes a mass shooter? Louis Felder’s Threat explores the question currently on the minds of many Americans as we continue to hear reports about people opening fire at schools and in public places. However, unlike the ongoing debate about gun control, the play concentrates on the warning signs, spotted early on by a university psychotherapist. Daring, realistic and at times almost difficult to watch, Threat examines what it might take to stop a tragedy from playing out.

A psychology student named Margaret (Pagan Urich) presents her professor, Dr. Sloan Westbrook (John Posey), with her dissertation on the correlation between Narcissistic Personality Disorder and mass shooters. She argues that in both cases, the person’s intention is to become famous — and when that attention is not given to them for what they perceive to be their brilliance or importance within their community, they find a different, punishing way to make themselves known. Westbrook agrees with Margaret’s conclusions, but advises her to pick a different topic (Menopausal Depression) in order to receive her Ph.D.

Years later, Margaret is working as a psychotherapist at an unnamed university when she is confronted by a young, quirky and self-centered student named David (Mason Conrad). He bursts into her office unannounced in order to discuss his latest findings on dark matter, for which he hopes to receive a Nobel Prize. David’s “discovery” comes from a ridiculous story he tells about having stood naked on the roof of his apartment the night before and bonding with unseen molecules in the air, which he claims have become one with his cells. From that point on, it is clear that he fits the bill of a textbook narcissist. Although he is smart, his desperate thirst to gain the physics department’s approval reveals itself to be dangerous when he has a violent outburst and declares that he wants to hurt the faculty members.

David’s condition escalates as Margaret continues to try to reason with him, reaching small breakthroughs that quickly dissolve into heart-stopping moments of intense pushback. His resistance evolves into bigger threats, larger delusions of grandeur, and further signs of reaching a point of no return.

Conrad portrays the twitchy David unnervingly well. Even as his character detaches from reality and becomes less relatable, he is still able to garner pity for his childhood problems, which are revealed as the source of his depravity. His growing instability begs the question of whether or not a person may be past help or beyond treatment. The production’s answer to that lies in Urich’s Margaret. Her cool-headed interpretation of the therapist in control, who’s willing to do or say whatever it takes to find a way out of the situation, is compelling. She bases her approach on advice given to her by Westbrook, which is that no compliment is too big or action too extreme in the delicate handling of a dangerous narcissist. Even as David’s attack become sexual and his comparisons between the him and Margaret seem viable — the faculty has rejected him in much in the same way that her professor rejected her initial thesis when she was a student —Margaret remains firmly attached to her convictions while convincing her patient otherwise.

Under Asaad Kelada’s dynamic direction, the actors make use of every inch of space on the theater’s small proscenium. Derrick McDaniel’s lighting design enhances the intensity with dark moody hues and spotlights that represent sudden insights. Matthew Richter’s projections, on the drab back wall of the office, feature contemporary images of current events and explosive colorful art that complement the plot’s unfolding events and add an extra element of suspense as the play builds to its climax.

Threat — which depicts every therapist’s nightmare come to life — serves as an important reminder of what we’re truly dealing with as a society, as reports of more shootings continue to flood the news. The work’s stunning conclusion is confirmation that we cannot afford to wait a minute longer for government action to curb the frequency of these incidents. There is no doubt that there are more Davids out there than there are Margarets.

Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; through May 5. (805) 419-5529(805) 419-5529 or https://threatplay.brownpapertickets.com. Running time: one hour and 30 minutes with no intermission.