Playwright: Philip Dawkins. At: Dog & Pony Theatre Company at . Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph . Phone: 312-742-8497; $17-$22. Runs through July 18
Dog & Pony Theatre Company's production of Philip Dawkins' Dead Letter Office is like an unfinished jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces are there for a good solid drama with appropriate whimsy, but they're not fitted into the right places just yet.
That's a pity since there are so many eye-catching and interesting elements in this world premiere drama originally conceived by Ben Viccellio.
The plot is relatively simple. John Fenner Mays portrays Christian, a hardened and seemingly emotionless man leading a subterranean work existence in the Minnesota Dead Letter Office filing away mislabeled letters like he's wiling away the remaining hours of his life. Despite the best efforts of the overly perky letter carrier Agatha ( Susan Price ) to cheer up Christian, he doesn't betray much emotion.
Into Christian's calm and organized existence arrives Je T'Aime ( Kristen Magee ) , a young and sexy woman who has clearly been hired by the supervisor Rolo ( Joshua Volkers ) more for her physical assets than her filing skills. But it turns out that Je T'Aime is out to solve a deep-seated secret hidden by Christianbefore she reveals a few doozies of her own.
Dawkins' script tempers its seriousness with great levity in the characters of Agatha and Rolo, but it feels too formulaic when Christian and Je T'Aime reveal their secrets in a sequential tag-team style that doesn't emerge naturally. Dawkins also introduces a supernatural element that confounds more than it illuminates. And that's despite the great opportunity it allows for William Anderson's wonderful basement-set design ( complete with atmospheric dripping pipes and letter-spewing chutes ) to come to pieces at a key moment.
Dawkins is also let down a bit by Price's take on Agatha. Unlike many cheery chatterboxes, Price's work onstage feels too forced instead of flowing like it is second nature.
Otherwise there's a lot to recommend in director Dieterich Gray's involving and visually intriguing production. There are also some great performances by the rest of the cast.
Volkers easily oozes on the charm up the slimy supervisor Rolo who doesn't let his wedding ring get in the way of seducing his employees. And Magee is great as Je T'Aime who nonchalantly shields her emotions until the very moment it becomes urgently necessary.
But the performance to watch is Mays as the tightly wound Christian. Mays' silence and glaring eyes compels you to find out what exactly occurred in Christian's past to make him the way he is today.
Dead Letter Office may not be the best assembled play, but there are enough plusses in Dog & Pony's world-premiere production to recommend it. Here's to hoping that the pieces fully fit together the next time.