Playwright: Alan Donahue (adapted from Donald Westlake’s novel)At: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. GlenwoodPhone: (773) 761-4477; $20Runs through: Aug. 17
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Tabloid journalism. Murder. Stalking. Deceit. Sex. You’ll find all of these elements in Alan Donahue’s taut adaptation of mystery writer Donald Westlake’s novel, Trust Me on This. You’ll also find a good dose of humor, which helps break up the story’s darker moments.
Sara Joslin has just been hired as a reporter for the Weekly Galaxy, a Florida sensationalist rag that bears an uneasy resemblance to papers like The National Enquirer and the Weekly World News. On her first day to work, Sara discovers a body in a Buick with a bullet hole in his head. Voila! Sara thinks, I can come into work with my first story under my belt. Except Sara’s editor, Jack Ingersoll, doesn’t want to hear about it. There are more pressing matters to attend to, such as the Beer and Potato Chip Diet, the observation from an appalled anonymous source that Martha Stewart’s home is a ‘pigsty,’ the fact that sex can cure gallstones, beer can cure herpes, and two-headed calves are being born. Sara quickly realizes that her journalistic instincts might be better saved for investigating the body on her own time. And investigate she must, because the case of the bulleted body becomes curiouser and curiouser, as the corpse pops up almost everywhere Sara goes (the appearance of the dummy is a running gag in the show), her attempts to discover the murdered man’s identity are thwarted at every turn, any documentation she has made about the crime disappear mysteriously, and, finally, Sara realizes that she must solve the puzzle before she meets the same fate.
Lifeline’s production, under Dorothy Milne’s brisk-clipped direction, is a great deal of fun. Not only is Donahue’s adaptation terrific, retaining Westlake’s hybrid of noir crime and on-the-money satire, but the show itself is a capable blend of superior acting (the ensemble has the lunatic, aggressive style down perfectly), adept staging, and creative use of background extras such as music, sound effects, and mostly hilarious back-screened headlines ripped from the pages of the Weekly Galaxy. Add to all this the sly commentary on America’s fascination with scandal and celebrity and you have one winning show.
In order for a show like this to work, the director, and the cast, have to walk a fine line between absurdity and credibility. The characters here verge into caricature, but they are always sympathetic. Katie McLean does solid work here, going from earnest journalist to an expert in deceit and trickery, relentless to get her sensational story, whatever it takes. She also brings her character back to someone who is ethical and human. McLean makes her journey fascinating and believable. As her editor, Jack Ingersoll, William Smillie exudes the kind of world-weary acceptance of his fate that makes us understand his feelings of being trapped and at the same time, never being able to stop pushing himself. He’s a responsible lout.
Trust Me on This: Lifeline, known for its literary adaptations, has done fine, fun work here.