Reckless

Had enough of Dickens and Tchaikovsky and Balanchine? Ready for a tragi-comedy for the holidays? Consider the cinematic Reckless (1995, with Mia Farrow and Mary Louise Parker), from Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss, The Light in the Piazza, The Dying Gaul, et al).

Drew Cortese as Tom and Julia Motyka as Rachel Photo: Terry Shapiro

Forget the intermission nominally inserted into the stage version and take a surreal journey with Rachel Fitsimmons, through some dark moments that draw humor from the impossible sequence of events, elegantly woven together in the synergistically appropriate in-the-round Space Theatre of the Denver Center Theatre Company.

In her DCTC debut, Julia Motyka wows us with a spirited, non-stop performance that pulls us into Rachel's bizarre life, beginning with a cozy Christmas Eve scene with her husband, Tom (Drew Cortese, with deadpan earnestness), who confesses that he's taken out a contract on her life. Despite the seemingly reckless discontinuity of events that follow, Lucas resolves the journey with a few deftly executed coincidences.

(Left to right) Tyrone Mitchell Henderson as Tim Timko and Jeffrey M. Bender as Lloyd Photo: Terry Shapiro

Along the way, Rachel is befriended by Lloyd (a poignantly understated Jeffrey M. Bender) and Pooty (Leslie O'Carroll, a curious mix of desperation and honesty), a couple each with secrets so strange, they seemed destined for one another. Lloyd helps Rachel find work with a global charity run by Roy (the delightfully dry Tyrone Mitchell Henderson), with assistance from Trish (icy sarcasm from Kathleen M. Brady). Lucas' comments on noblesse oblige, neoliberalism, and the seduction of cynicism are masterfully expressed by the characters themselves.

But he doesn't stop there. Next, we bear witness to the inanity of news and game shows (with the zany Henderson and Bender), and the ratings games (profits) and showmanship that blurs the lines between the two.

(L to R) Gabra Zackman as Doctor and Julia Motyka as Rachel Photo: Terry Shapiro

Finally, Rachel undergoes therapy with a succession of psychiatrists (the versatile Gabra Zachman), each emphasizing a different school of thought, including the influence of dreams, parents, psychosomatic interplay, birth, and self esteem. The joke, of course, is that, as is so often the case, after undergoing this work, Rachel joins the ranks of the profession herself. What we see of her own approach, though, is, to Lucas' credit, an enlightened iteration.

Given how crazy the world can be at times, Rachel's odyssey is truly heroic—despite the traumas inflicted on her, she perseveres to experience a measure of redemption.

The Denver Center Theatre Company's production of Reckless runs through December 18th. 303-893-4100 or www.denvercenter.org.

Bob Bows