Covering the performing arts is often tricky for me because so many of the artists I write about are also friends. Also, since I regularly merge my professional life with my personal life, it is sometimes quite a challenge to remain objective. At the same time, I feel bound to maintain my honesty and integrity because to do otherwise would ultimately be a disservice to those whose work I critique.
I share all the above sentiments in the spirit of transparency as it pertains to my opinion of the newest play by local playwright Casey Ross, “Bat in The Wind,” presented by Catalyst Repertory, the company which she co-founded and which she serves as a co-artistic director. Ross and I are not only friends but also colleagues in that Dustin Klein, my collaborator, and I appeared in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” also presented at IndyFringe Basile Theatre and directed by Ross, last March. A critically acclaimed and box office success, the Tennessee Willliams classic, through a novel partnership, was co-produced by Catalyst and Magic Thread Cabaret. Besides that relationship, Ross also intersects with me through her role as graphic designer for Klein & Alvarez Productions, of which MTC is a brand, and this On the Aisle column in which I have previously profled her.
And if all that were not enough to test my objectivity, the drama, which has four more performances at IndyFringe Basile Theatre and is Catalyst’s entry in the 2023 IndyFringe Theatre Festival, focuses on addiction and depression, topics that are very personal to me — I’ve been sober since 1984. Ross’s commentary on the effects of substance abuse and its impact on its two main characters Randy (David Pelsue) and Taylor (Matt Kraft) portrayed the same self-destructive behavior that nearly killed me prior to my finding recovery all those years ago.
Then of course, when it comes to expertise in addiction and recovery, I qualify as an expert through my three-year employment as director of development from 2001-2004 at Fairbanks Hospital, one of the country’s oldest treatment centers. Plus, my attendance at hundreds of recovery meetings, and years of individual therapy contribute to my knowledge surrounding substance abuse and recovery.
Over the years, there have been many plays written on the topic of substance abuse including some of the most famous, such as “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” “The Iceman Cometh,” and others, all of which are compelling because they make for high drama as their characters yearn for the freedom from addiction that never comes. Consequently, I had already made up my mind that, based on my own experience, I would find nothing new in Ross’s play, but happily, I report that it had many redeeming factors that saved it from just being another depressing play about two drunks.
In the case of Ross’s two-hander, the odd couple Randy and Taylor are neighbors who share a dilapidated duplex in a blue-collar neighborhood and have more in common than not. Taylor is a bright, sardonic witted, yet emotionally unavailable, 30-something, alienated, tortured-artist type yearning to write a successful play. He considers himself sober because he only drinks beer and occasionally snorts cocaine. Randy, his much older mysterious neighbor, has seen better days as he sinks further into his acute vodka-fueled isolation. Though the play’s time frame is unclear, the two develop an awkward friendship in which they spar with one another, and which grows as they discover qualities they share, one being their intelligence. Ross’s clever, dry humor is never more present than in this work that she says in semi-autobiographical, making the dialogue she has written true to the ear. My interest did not wane in the least during its 50-minute length, which is owed to the play’s effective structure and director Zach Stonerock’s astute interpretation of Ross’s often gripping play, which is alternately funny, depressing, and dark.
At times dangerously close to reinforcing harmful stereotypes about the funny drunk, Ross’s study of her pathetic yet likeable misfits works because I ultimately cared about them and their futures. To reveal what becomes of the troubled duo will ruin the experience if you plan to see it, but suffice to say, the work does have positive things to say about friendship, empathy, art, and human connection. Humanity filled “Bat in the Wind,” which I believe has legs, should be expanded and deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
As far as their acting abilities are concerned, Pelsue and Kraft, two superb character actors displayed a chemistry that was totally convincing. I was delighted to observe them practicing their craft with such impeccable skill and commitment. It’s a performance that I will long remember for its honesty in portraying characters keenly fleshed out by homegrown Ross, who has the potential to become one of the leading voices in the American Theatre.
.“Bat in the Wind” continues its run Friday, August 25, 8:00 p.m., Sunday, August 27, 7:00 p.m., Saturday, September 2, 8:45 p.m. and Sunday, September 3, 12:00 p.m. For tickets visit indyfringe.org. For information about Catalyst Repertory and their 2023-2024 season visit catalystrepertory.org.
