In the intimate Tremont Theater it's easy to feel close to the killers that make up the small cast of Bruce Graham's Coyote on a Fence. The show features two death row inmates who form a unique and sympathetic relationship despite blatant ideological differences.
John (Fred Robbins) is a literate and cultured man who plays chess by mail and edits his own magazine -- The Death Row Advocate -- while Bobby (Barlow Adamson) is an impressionable white supremacist whose wide-eyed ignorance makes him strangely endearing.
The cast also includes Sam Fried (Peter Papadopolous), a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist who is attracted to "The Row" by John's controversial publication. Finally, the show is rounded off and taken away by Bobbie Steinbach's portrayal of the hard-ass prison guard Shawna.
The play's hot political content is distinctively accommodated by the original close up view of a world which is rarely examined from the inside out. In these days, the death penalty can hardly be mentioned without being immediately followed by a strong sentiment of either support or opposition; one does not think to inspect the opinions of those people who themselves await the sentence.
Yet, in Coyote on a Fence, not only do we see two completely opposite views from the prisoners themselves, but we also get a more subtle and, perhaps, even more effective outlook from both the journalist and the prison guard. These differing opinions, all equally rational in their own way, force the audience to reexamine their own views, now with new information and emotion at hand. Each character is so convinced of their own respective innocence, whether it is in the eyes of the state or in those of God, that we are also inclined to question what makes someone guilty or evil, an assumption to which these inmates are so readily assigned.
In terms of acting, both Adamson and Steinbach carried the show with their impenetrable character profundity and humorously ironic authenticity. Adamson succeeded at the unbelievable task of getting in a touch with a character who was admittedly a killer and who genuinely perceived his actions as for the good of the human race (specifically, for the good of the "Aryan Race"). Adamson lovingly portrayed a man who had been nothing but an uneducated product of a racist family and an unforgiving society. His performance was touching and thought provoking, bringing a new dimension to our perception of the creation of a criminal.
Steinbach depicted a wry, tough, and strangely sympathetic prison guard who essentially stole the show. She was the only character who experienced any real development or growth throughout the production and thereby provided the necessary closure at the play's conclusion.
Her performance was funny and heartfelt and gave a sense that behind the inhumane doors of the death penalty, there is actually a painfully human face. Everything from her gum smacking to her tear choked speech at the end gave the play its crucial elements of satisfaction and the feeling that something was accomplished despite the tragedy of the system.
While the production is very effective in terms of set design, dialogue, political discussion and intimacy, there are a few weak links. Robbins' portrayal of John took the cultivated intellectual to an extreme, mock British accent and scripted laugh included. His character was extremely superficial and, even while discussing his crime, he had no criminal core. As an actor, Robbins lacked the subtlety necessary to give the character depth.
Papadopolous' portrayal of the unenergetic journalist also brought the show down. Rather than overplaying the obvious traits of his character like Robbins, he was understated to the point of monotony. His character, a Jew in the vicinity of a one sided white supremacist, had an enormous amount of potential to make the show even more powerful. Unfortunately, his role was vastly underdeveloped and underplayed.
Coyote on a Fence takes on a subject normally swept under the rug and exposes it with a story that is both thorough and genuine. Directed by Nancy Curran Willis, the actors, script, staging, space and sound all transport the audience into an unfamiliar but existent universe. As an audience member you leave feeling sad, touched, disturbed and pensive. This production is definitely worth seeing in spite of its few setbacks. The story, winner of the Lois Rich and Richard Rosenthal Award, is an important contemporary piece for both political and ideological reasons.
The production is running Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through March 23. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors. Tickets can be obtained by contacting Boston TheaterWorks at 617-939-9939.
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