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REVIEW: Killer Joe at Hyde Park Theatre

It was a dark and storm night - literally - when the stranger came to call. Thursday night's thunderstorm was perfectly timed to the inciting incident in Act I of Killer Joe, staged by Capital T Theatre and now playing at Hyde Park Theatre. And much like a classic Tennessee Williams play, the thunder and lightning punctuated the tense action on the stage - that is, if you could imagine Tennessee Williams as directed by Quinton Tarintino.

You see, down-on-his-luck, white trash schemer, Chris Smith, owes some money to some unsavory characters, so he gets his dim-witted Dad, Ansel Smith, to help in the plot to kill his Mom - Dad's ex-wife - so they can split her insurance policy, which is made out to Chris's brain-damaged sister, Dottie. Dad's current wife, Sharla, gets in on the plot, and they hire crooked cop "Killer" Joe Cooper - who moonlights as a hired killer - to do the deed for them. Of course, everyone ends up rubbing each other the wrong way, and when things don't turn out exactly as planned - let's just say, it gets ugly. Jerry Springer ugly, and you know someone's going to get hurt bad before it's all over.

Written by actor-turned-playwright Tracy Letts, the story twists like a dirty sock on a clothes line in a West Texas rainstorm. Just as that sock never gets clean, no one during the telling of this twisted tale actually gets what they want, or comes out of it unscathed.

Letts knows how to write dysfunctional family dramas that let a glimmer of heart peak through the messed-up relationships. His short time living in Dallas influenced not only his writing on Killer Joe, but also his Pulitzer and Tony Award winning play August: Osage County.

The cast is first-rate, and director Mark Pickell dances them across the Hyde Park stage with finesse. Pickell knows how to hold a moment to develop dramatic tension without being cliché, and he has the actors pepper the scenes with mannerism that enhance their characters

without being over the top.

Kenneth Wayne Bradley as the title character is a phenomenal power-house - a convincing mix of Texas good old boy and cold-blooded criminal. You always feel that he is one step ahead of the plot line, which keeps the audience off balance whenever he graces the stage.

Melissa Recalde is sublime as the childlike Dottie, showing great depth to her mentally-stunted character. As her brother Chris, Joey Hood hits all the right notes as the good kid who got trapped by his own mistakes.

Joe Reynolds as Ansel and Katie DeBuys as Sharla play their parts subtly, letting their characters develop during the course of the evening. This helps punctuate the revelations of the final act and the way each responds to the violent developments that close the show.

The set is sublime, evoking the trashed trailer house that the Smith family call home. From the hand-me-down furniture to the cracked linoleum floor, every square inch of the uber-realism set reeks of desperation - note the insulation-stuffed cut-away walls that frame the stage. And Killer Joe is a technically complex play, so special kudos to both the cast and crew for pulling off all the required light, sound, and on-stage actions during the fast-paced show.

The ending is not a big surprise, but the final act is still a rollercoaster ride. And Killer Joe is a one hell of a killer ride!

“Killer Joe” contains nudity, cigarette smoke, gunshots, violence, and adult situations. Tickets are $15 to $25, with performances on Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Hyde Park Theatre is located at 511 W 43rd Street. For information and reservations, call (512) 479-PLAY or visit www.CapitalT.org.

(Images : photos by Alan Trammell:

- [top] Ken Bradley as Killer Joe;

- [bottom] Ken Bradley, Melissa Recalde, Joe Reynolds, Katie DeBuys, and Joey Hood)