This odd little play is really an imported production from the Kitchen Theater Company in Ithaca, NY. It is like several other small plays I’ve seen and liked by Mark St. Germain, except that the two roles do not seem well balanced to me, as most are in the other plays of his. I do not think the disparity lies in the casting, though I do think Zach Calhoon much stronger than Rachel Burttram and better cast (she plays an injured Broadway dancer but really doesn’t look physically like any kind of professional dancer, either in physique or movement). More to the point, Senga talks about her several physical problems but seems to be more upset about them than afflicted with them. She does wear braces that are physically and visually helpful in establishing her affliction, but she seemed to me to be physically hindered irregularly and rather unconvincingly. I feel that St. Germain doesn’t give her as many actions or concerns as he does his much more interesting male character. Zach Calhoon manages and sometimes struggles with some almost imperceptible quirky expressions and physical mannerisms as a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome who lectures on intellectual research and works with troubled younger students with autism and similar conditions. He is about to be honored for his remarkable achievements and asks Senga to help him to seem less embarrassing physically, especially should he be asked to dance. His shy character (named Ever Montgomery), although a young adult, has never even permitted himself any real sexual stimulation, so his first such experiences with Senga are a delicate mix between comic awkwardness and rather sweetly innocent delight. St. Germain’s working out of the conflicts seems a little underdeveloped, and perhaps a little contrived; but the final result is pleasing, if inconclusive. It might be retitled, “A Light Touch.”
