H20  at CATF/Shepherdstown, West Virginia
          (CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PLAY FESTIVAL)

(Seen July 20, 2013)


When a story sounds like it's been ripped from the headlines of a gossip magazine, revealing the death of yet another young superstar, drowned in adulation, vast riches, and abundant drugs --- you might think you've heard it all before.  But Jane Martin has written a vivid, believable play that far outdoes what you might read in blogs and gossip sources.

What might seem a preposterous situation, and a pair of disparate lovers, achieves a sense of total reality, due to the creative team behind this intense drama.  First and foremost, there is Jane Martin, the secret playwright who was "born" in 1982 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival, and whose true identity is still unknown in the theatre community.

Then there is director Jon Jory (who originally "discovered" Martin), whose sure hand guides this sterling piece of contemporary theatre to heights we haven't seen for some years.  And, of course, the two actors who so thoroughly inhabit their roles, so that you suffer with them in their emotional struggles.

Alex Podulke plays an actor who has amassed a following and a fortune by playing a super-hero in wordless mega-action films.  Deep into drugs,  he searches his persona to try to find out who he really is as an actor. A Broadwaqy producer brings him to New York to star in HAMLET, as his first stage appearance.  He is also given 'carte blanche' to cast his own Ophelia.

Diane Mair, plays an unknown, aspiring actress, who is a crusading, evangelical Christian who feels her talents are God-given, and that only through Christ can an actor achieve greatness.  She comes to his place for an audition, and is repelled, yet driven into his delusions and pains.  And these two brilliant performers carry through this tragic story of fame, love, and death, with virtuoso performances.

Everything happens before our eyes, as Jory has scene and costumes changes made in full view of the audience.  The cinematic flow of the of the piece keeps us emotionally involved and truly feeling the tragedy that ensues.

Hopefully, this production, intact, will make it to Broadway next season, so that once again New York audiences can see what's happening in our regional theatres.

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[ This was a world premiere production, part of this season's five new plays at the CATF in Shepherdstown, West Virginia]