O n Friday, March 31, 1922, at a remote farm outside the Bavarian town of Kaifeck, someone slaughtered six people-the Gruber family and their maid-striking each one repeatedly on the head and face with a pickax. Four days later neighbors found the bodies. They also discovered that the farm and livestock had been well tended all weekend; the killer had apparently moved in for a while before vanishing.
Still, West has assembled potent incidents into an explosive mix, as is her
wont. But the script’s bifurcated structure short-circuits the whole
affair. West sets act one just after the murders and act two just before,
switching the focus to new characters after intermission, resetting the
dramatic course, and dropping almost everything set up for payoff in the
first half. In essence, she’s created separate halves of different plays.
And the conclusion brings little meaningful resolution.
Through 3/3: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Steep Theatre Company, 1115 W. Berwyn, 773-649-3186, steeptheatre.com, $27-$38.
