‘Bash’
Stages Theatre Company
Director: T.J. Burrin V
Old Centrum; through Aug. 15

Stages Theatre Company is on a roll. Their last show, The House of Yes, was outstanding and Bash, their latest offering, is a good runner-up.

Bash is made up of three individual scenes. Their theme is murder — and not just any kind of murder, but cold-blooded murder that in the perpetrator’s mind is justified.

The first scene is titled “Iphigenia in Orem.” It refers to the Greek myth of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, who was sacrificed in order to appease Artemis. Orem is a city in Utah, a state known for its Mormon population — the faith being a defining characteristic of the characters in Scenes 1 and 3. Luke Renn plays the Man. He directly addresses the audience — a tool used in all three scenes — although he is speaking to an unseen other character he has invited into his hotel room: a confessor, so that this Man can clear his conscience regarding the death of his 5-month-old daughter. Renn’s revelations are as convincing as they are horrifying. Watch his eyes — in this piece, as in his performance as Uncle Peck in Buck Creek’s How I Learned to Drive, the look in his eyes gives credence to his words that his unassuming demeanor hides.

In Scene 2, “Medea Redux” — referring to the infamous Medea, who slew her children as revenge against her husband — Valerie Miller plays the adult victim of a pedophile who left her pregnant at age 14. She sits, recounting her story into a tape player for the authorities, but again, you feel she is speaking directly to you. Hers is perhaps the most forgivable of the crimes — though Miller plays her character as strong and mentally intact, you can’t help but feel that this Woman is a victim as well. That she can create empathy for this character is evidence of good acting.

Finally, we get to Scene 3, which is where the play takes its name. Called “Gaggle of Saints,” a young couple tell about their trip to the city to attend a party — a bash. While his girlfriend lies sleeping and oblivious, John, played by Eric Evans, and his friends take gay bashing literally. Carley Cornelius as Sue is competently dingy — if a little too Calista Flockhart — but Evans is the one who brings out the many faces of the faithful. From righteous anger over gay love to dutiful indignation at the sight of spousal abuse, John is perhaps the character that is most recognizable to us — and therefore most frightening.

The use of direct address gives the play an intimate, storytelling feel. You believe these characters are telling their tales to you — and it is a riveting experience.

Though sets and lighting were distracting from the focus on the actors, the payoff is still chilling and, most importantly, provocative and thought-provoking.

Bash, directed by T.J. Burrin V, continues at the Old Centrum, 520 E. 12th St., through Aug. 15. Tickets are only $9. Call 787-5717.