John Lerma plays Charmichael, a haunted, unpredictable, sadistic stranger looking to buy his long-ago-severed hand from drug-dealer and girlfriend Toby and Marilyn (Ngegwa McCloud and Rebecca MacCreery) with the non-assistance of Mervyn (Hunter Folleth) the nosy “receptionist guy.”
Christopher Walken was nominated for a Tony playing Charmichael on Broadway. He remarked, “You don’t have to know what an actor is talking about; you just have to know that HE knows.” Lerma brought his own version of “Walken-esque” strangeness, and was scary enough, as he toyed with his scam-hand-selling prey.
Playwright Martin McDonagh has been praised for his other scripts such Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman— but may not have as firm a grip on the American psyche. Some critics have found the racist insults by Charmichael (and his mother, by phone) to be offensive, and accused author McDonahh of presenting a racist stereotype in the Toby character.
That said, Ndegwa offered the most convincing and impassioned performance in this show, ranging from desperation to tears to placating pleas and girlfriend exasperation. Rebecca was both annoying and charming — and Hunter was weirdly cute and inscrutable, with an adorably strange affection for monkeys - and unrealized heroic aspirations.
As the script progresses, the absurdity blooms and provokes laughter; it is “F-ing funny” to quote the director’s note. I applaud Heath Sartorius in his directorial debut, and bid him a reluctant farewell as he moves to New York in a couple weeks. Heath has worked on over 50 shows in the past 13 years in the Mid-Michigan area and will be sorely missed.
A Behanding in Spokane continues through April 7 in Riverwalk’s Black Box Thursdays at 7, Fridays/Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2.
General seating; arrive early for best seats.
http://www.riverwalktheatre.com