Set in the present, in a
cell block of a County Jail in West Virginia, an inmate named Bugaboo (Heidi
Sulzman) has been alone in her cell for a month and a half. Freaking out, she
talks to God, to herself, and the not-unkind jail guard (Michelle Gardner).
She
finally gets a cell-mate (Jacqueline Toboni) who doesn’t
talk, but rolls herself into a ball and cowers in the corner of her bunk. So Bugaboo
decides she will save the soul of this little sinner, who she nicknames The
Silent One.
Each woman is awaiting
final sentencing and both face 25 years to life in prison. However, it’s soon clear
that they are each desperate for something outside of themselves.
Although two
very different types, it’s obvious both have a desperate need for a friend to
talk to when darkness envelops ones spirit. It becomes a moving character study
about ordinary women in distress, and Sulzman and Toboni play it faithfully and
eloquently.
Credit goes to
writer/director Marja-Lewis Ryan who captures the dynamic between lost souls
and has a compassionate view of the pressures on people within a jail.
Set
designer Michael Fitzgerald has created a suitably grim jail cell, and Cricket
Meyers’ sound design supplies a chilling background of screams, shouts, and
clanging cell doors.
Presented by Chris Bender,
produced by Leah Couvelier, Allie Romano and Ryan, and associate produced by
Racquel Lehrman of Theatre Planners.
At the Lounge Theater,
located at 6201 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, through February. For tickets: (800) 838-3006 or batso.brownpapertickets.com.
Photo credit: Billy Baque.
Also in my theater column
in February’s NOT BORN YESTERDAY
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