Writing, acting and directing come together in dynamic fashion in the West Coast premiere of The Kill-or-Dies, Meghan Brown’s ink-black comedy about four amoral scoundrels trying to outwit each other and lay claim to a pot of gold (a suitcase full of cocaine whose street value is worth about half a mil).
The play kicks off with a confrontation between Maggie (Megan Kathleen Duffy) and her oldest friend, Chelsea (Karina Wolfe), who is hiding out in her late grandmother’s home after having committed a horrible crime elsewhere. The sweetly innocent-looking home with its humming-bird wallpaper (evocative set by Jeanine Ringer) provides the perfect counterpart to all the nasty and evil things that take place here. Maggie, a hard-boiled, sharp-tongued beauty, is trying to do a number on Billy (Daniel Dorr), her drug-dealing boy-friend. Instead of acting simply as a courier for him, she has decided to sell the coke herself and abscond with the loot. Problem is, Billy sniffs out her con and shows up with a pistol-packing hood in tow, Lawrence (Rob Nagle), to take back what is rightfully his. What follows is a series of cat-and-mouse games between Maggie and Billy as they duel verbally, psychologically and sexually with each other over the fate of the suitcase.
Caught up in this life-and-death struggle (which is also shot through with comedy) are the seemingly mousy and timid Chelsea and the blissfully thick-headed Lawrence. To give too much away would be wrong; suffice to say that the plot’s twists and turns keep building in intensity, leading to a final scene which ends when one of the characters lands a surprising knock-out punch. The Kill-or-Dies is a character-driven play, one whose success depends on the skill of its actors. Yes, the playwright has given the cast a lot of sardonic, snappy dialogue to speak, but it’s really the splendid performances (and expert direction) that lift this production well above the ordinary.
Previews:
November 12, 2015
Opened:
November 14, 2015
Ended:
December 13, 2015
Country:
USA
State:
California
City:
Los Angeles
Company/Producers:
Electric Footlights/Moving Arts
Theater Type:
Regional
Theater:
McCadden Place Theater
Theater Address:
1157 North McCadden Place
Phone:
323-465-1008
Website:
movingarts.org
Running Time:
90 min
Genre:
Dark Comedy
Director:
Darin Anthony
Review:
Cast:
Karina Wolfe, Megan Kathleen Duffy, Daniel Dorr, Rob Nagle
Technical:
Stage Manager: Meg Elgaard; Fight Director: Kevin Moran; Sound: Luke Moyer. Costumes: Christine Cover Ferro. Effects: John Burton. Set: Jeanine Ringer.
Critic:
Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
November 2015
