Playwright: Neil LaBute
At: Circle Theatre, 7300 W. Madison
Phone: ( 708 ) 771-0700; $22
Runs through: May 22
In thinking about Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things, one word springs to mind: provocation. Playwright LaBute ( also known for the screenplays Nurse Betty, In the Company of Men, and Your Friends and Neighbors ) challenges us to consider our notions about art and human connection in the play's crisp 90-minute running time.
Here LaBute explores an unlikely relationship: free-spirited art student, Evelyn ( Andrea Mustain ) makes the acquaintance of fellow student and museum security guard, Adam ( Joshua Rollins, in the most fully realized, fleshed-out performance of the play ) when she is about to deface a statue to make a statement. Evelyn is quick-witted, straightforward, and so charming that Adam leaves her to make her to her spray cans and 'statement.' He also leaves with her phone number, spray-painted on the inside of his jacket. Soon, the pair has become an unlikely duo, one that is definitely lopsided with regard to power. Evelyn sets about leading Adam down a path that culminates in remarkable physical and psychological changes ( he goes from pudgy nerd to sensitive stud in the space of a few weeks, shedding 25 pounds, exchanging glasses for contacts, and even having a nose job; with his physical transformation, he also becomes more duplicitous ) . What Evelyn is up to with her Adam ( the Biblical attributions are thuddingly obvious; Adam even has Evelyn's initials tattooed on himself—which happen to be EAT ) is foreshadowed by a reference to Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle early on. That Evelyn is leading Adam toward a metaphorical fall from grace is obvious; why she's doing it isn't quite so clear until the play's final scene.
But what LaBute and director Kristin Gehring are after here is the aforementioned provocation. In watching how Evelyn snares and transforms Adam, seeing just how far she can mold him into a byproduct of her imagination and artistic temperament, the audience is called upon to answer several questions: what is art? How much does subjective interpretation influence how we view art, and ultimately, how we view life? What is love, really?
As with much of LaBute's work, there's an ugly—yet fascinating—little undercurrent going on here.
Circle Theatre's production—given the material—is compelling; you won't find yourself looking at your watch. However, it's somewhat uneven: Joshua Rollins gives a fine, textured and layered performance as Adam, but he seems to be acting in a different league from his cast mates, who are closer to competent community theater players. Director Gehring's pacing needs to be quicker…the build-up of tension and evil LaBute endowed the script with kind of gets lost in the steady, plodding pace on stage here. But The Shape of Things, ultimately, is worth seeing, even in a so-so production such as this one. Because even without a stellar production, this remains a script that gets under your skin and doesn't let go, like a burrowing insect.