Killer Joe

Reviewed by Judy Richter

Lee Sankowich isn't leaving quietly with his last staging as artistic director of Marin Theatre Company. Sankowich, who is resigning after 16 seasons with the respected company, directs the in-your-face Tracy Letts' "Killer Joe," a comedy-drama filled with nudity, sex, violence and lots to think about. The contemporary work, set in a rundown trailer park on the outskirts of Dallas, focuses on a family that could exemplify the term "trailer trash."

Chris Smith (Ryan Montgomery), 22, is a small-time drug dealer who needs several thousand dollars to make good on a deal gone bad. There's no way that his father, Ansel (Howard Swain), an auto mechanic, and stepmother, Sharla (Stacy Ross), a waitress, can come up with the money. However, Chris has a scheme: He wants to hire a rogue Dallas cop, Joe Cooper (Cully Fredricksen), to kill his mother so that the rest of the family can collect on her life insurance. Joe, known as Killer Joe, usually is paid in advance, but he agrees to accept a retainer, Ansel's daughter, Dottie (Anna Bullard), a sweet 20-year-old with the emotional and intellectual capacity of a 12-year-old. The other family members agree, so Joe moves in with them, sharing Dottie's room and bed. When the insurance scheme fails, Joe exacts violent retribution.

No one in the family is very bright or sophisticated. When he's not at work, Ansel spends most of his time sprawled on the sofa in his filthy, torn underwear watching TV. Sharla's idea of a good dinner is a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and she doesn't think twice about answering the door in the middle of the night wearing nothing but a dirty T-shirt that leaves her bare from the waist down. Chris has vague hopes for the future and seems to care about Dottie, but his background and limited education hold him back. "There's nothing worse than regret," he says.

Each actor creates a well realized character, but Bullard as Dottie and Fredricksen as Joe are especially noteworthy. Bullard walks timidly, tentatively and often maintains a vacant look except when Dottie asks a question that shows she knows more than one might think. The tall, slender Fredricksen gives Joe an air of assurance and menace that keep him in control. The scene in which he gently but firmly seduces Dottie is fraught with tension and sensuality. He always treats her kindly, but he shows no mercy to the others after their plan goes awry. He's particularly cruel to Sharla in one graphic scene that led several audience members to walk out, and the violence that follows is exceedingly bloody.

Inspired by film noir, Sankowich and his design team -- Giulio Cesare Perrone, sets; Laura Hazlett, costumes; and Michael Palumbo, lighting -- stage the play entirely in black, white and grays, except for the blood. Even the KFC bucket and the beer bottles have black, gray and white labels. Norman Kern's sound and music complement the approach.

"Killer Joe" has reportedly generated a lot of controversy, and one could certainly take issue with the nudity and violence, yet the play and its characters also generate a lot of thought and discussion. It's a bold choice.