Sad monsters in a cage

Shipping Dock Theatre is back in strong form with a
disturbing, haunting drama about prison life: Bruce Graham’s Coyote on a Fence. In a straightforward,
potent performance, a small cast holds the audience spellbound with material
that is neither pleasant nor ennobling but is certainly thought-provoking and
very hard to forget.

          Playwright
Graham doesn’t really take sides. He creates two complex main characters. One
is a stubbornly intellectual, self-involved convict who plays advocate for
other inmates but is defensively uninformative about his own crimes. The second
is a younger, horrible mass-murderer and bigot who revels in detailing his
offenses but is pathetically needy and grateful for any kindness.

          The
interaction of these two death-row inmates provides shifting insights into the
nature of violence and social retribution. And two views of them — by an
outsider who writes for the New York
Times and a prison guard who tries not to care about what she observes —
complicate our understanding of crime and punishment.

          We
first meet John Brennan in his cell, typing a letter to his estranged wife
about his prison newsletter and writing obituaries for executed convicts. He seems
upset about the immediate loss of the convict from the adjacent cell, mostly
because — not without self-interest — Brennan opposes execution as murder.

          When
Bobby Reyburn is moved into the neighboring cell, Brennan warily tries to
ignore him, especially when Reyburn makes clear that he believes that God wants
Jews, blacks, and other “predators” to be destroyed. Brennan later argues with
Reyburn over the boy’s belief that because God instructed him to murder, he
should not fight his death sentence, which will lead him to heaven.

          Sam
Fried, the Jewish reporter who interviews Brennan about his newsletter, also
opposes the death penalty but believes that Brennan whitewashes his fellow
killers’ crimes. Fried has no sympathy for the psychotic young Reyburn. He says
that Reyburn would happily slaughter Fried’s children if given the chance.

          All
these ugly contradictions play out in surprisingly entertaining and sympathetic
scenes. John Brennan’s rigid attitudes are often expressed with biting but
amusing wit. Bobby Reyburn’s beliefs are scarily off-putting when presented in
uneducated, happily convinced statements that betray his boyish charm.

          Sam
Fried is convincingly decent in his impulses and logical in his reasoning for
his unfeeling condemnation of these men. And officer Shawna DuChamps is hurt by
the notion that she is anything but a decent, ordinary person who has to hold
in check her sympathetic impulses toward her dangerous charges.

          Barbara
K. Biddy’s direction keeps these elements in balanced control, never permitting
the play to seem didactic, but also never allowing us a minute of indifference.
P. Gibson Ralph’s suggestive prison set (with a bar scene for Shawna) is a
model of simple clarity and varied acting spaces. The uncredited lighting design
and sound design (a series of intimidating prison sounds) lend strong support.

          In
the best-judged, most authoritative performance I’ve seen him give, Shipping
Dock regular Jerry Jones is never less than believable and gripping as Brennan.
David Woodworth’s Fried is persuasive in his opposing views. Kerry Young makes
Shawna dryly amusing and very real.

          Newcomer
Joshua Rice is quite remarkable as Reyburn. He will have to adjust to the
Visual Studies Workshop’s difficult, localized acoustics to better project his
climactic speech that explains the “Coyote on a Fence” image. But Rice brings
startling charisma and vulnerability to the character without letting us forget
what a monster he can be.

          Graham’s
script could be more tightly structured at the end. Its most telling moment
comes with Brennan’s reading from his obituary of Reyburn: “Bobby Reyburn knew
no charity or wisdom or peace in his life. And the only person who ever loved
him taught him how to hate.” Whether that sends chills down your spine or not,
any subsequent lines would seem to be a waste.

Coyote on a Fence,by Bruce
Graham, directed by Barbara K. Biddy, plays at
Shipping Dock Theatre Center, Visual Studies Auditorium, 31 Prince Street,
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through February 28.
Tickets: $12 to $22. 232-2250,
www.shippingdocktheatre.org

This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2004.