Burn This, Hub Theatre Company of Boston, at Plaza Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, through April 21.Pay-What-You-Can. 617-933-8600 or hubtheatreboston.org.
Lanford Wilson once shared an apartment with a modern dancer in Chicago. Not surprisingly the gay playwright set his 1987 drama "Burn This" in a similar situation. Here two gay men, advertising executive Larry and Bobby—the latter a dancer who died in a freak accident in the play's back story—and Anna, a straight dancer—choreographer, have been sharing a Lower Manhattan apartment with a loft. Emotional sharing and attempts at real connection dance their diverse ways through Wilson's no-nonsense and overlong yet sometimes moving play—compellingly performed by a strong Hub Theatre Company of Boston quartet in the intimate Plaza Black Box at the Boston Center for the Arts.
Hub Theatre—a company that always deserves attention for thoughtful and well-executed efforts ("The Book of Will," a recent example)--actually improves upon Wilson's mixed messaging about the chemistry between his characters--especially Anna's puzzlingly very different responses to ongoing writer boyfriend Burton and Pale, Bobby's enigmatic, hot-tempered brother. Boding well right from the start is Justin Lahue's smart apartment design. Seasoned theatergoers will call to mind David Miller's imaginative Zeitgeist Theatre designs (for "Spring Awakening" the play, for instance) on first looking at the striking black and white stairway leading to the unseen loft and the stylized dancer depicted on a side wall. Given the challenges confronting Anna in search of artistic satisfaction, the contrastingly simple kitchen and living room areas are fittingly spare.
Wilson, the author of such fine plays as "Talley's Folly" and "Hot l Baltimore," ought to have made "Burn This" as artistically tight as Lahue's design. Anna's grief about the loss of Bobby as a cherished friend and roommate as well as an apparently gifted dancer is very real, though the early description of her nightmarish reception by his Houston family at the funeral and afterwards would have benefitted from a shorter back story in this two and a half hour work. Still, Kiki Samko makes Anna's pain and sadness palpable. At the same time, Steve Auger captures Larry's sensitivity and comfort for his roommate even as he brings singular timing and color to his character's defensive humor. In one of the best scenes in the play—the second act conversation between Larry and Burton, this very talented actor catches the ad man's insight about Anna's life and work as well as his affecting attraction to the handsome writer. Tim Hoover convinces as the well-to-do writer and does his best with Burton's unsatisfying romantic moments with Anna—who resists his pursuit of her commitment.
Fans of the late author's best efforts (he passed away in 2011) may wonder why vulnerable Anna responds initially to volatile if dynamic Pale—from V.S.O.P. brandy and actually named Jimmy—only to send this married father of two children away and later welcome him again. Should all theatergoers question her being inspired choreographically by their relationship and seeming to need their connection? Such reservations about Wilson's plotting aside, Samko and Victor L. Shopov as Pale have real chemistry. Samko convinces as an artistically ambitious dancer and as a conflicted woman. Shopov is properly blistering in his initial entry—especially as he agonizes about parallel parking and removes his ill-fitting new shoes. His evocation of Pale's softer moments is equally persuasive.
Wilson usually had a lot to say about the power of human connection though "Burn This" needed more consistent fire. The exploring dramatist spoke of a story becoming "a dangerous secret he (a writer) can't risk telling." Fortunately Daniel Bourque's sharp direction and his highly intent cast take inspired risks at the BCA for an appealingly dangerous revival.