Barestage Play Has No Shortage of Virtue

There are two kinds of people in this world—those who play chess, and those who read horoscopes. The former plan out their moves with rationality and skill; they are always ordered and in control. The others wait for change to happen, trusting in fate to steer them in the right direction. And while both types share the stage in Barestage’s “Vicious Virtue,” by the end, it’s clear that the categories are not as fixed as the characters would like to believe.

“Vicious Virtue” opens with this opposition—chess and horoscopes—embodied by troubled married couple Lydia and George Overton. Lydia is a grown-up chess prodigy, supporting her jobless husband, a man who flips coins to make minor decisions and relies on astrology for the larger ones. The picture is bleak. The rapid-fire dialogue (not to mention George’s name) recalls “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” before things go really sour.

But the Overtons are stable compared to the family Lydia stems from: the rich, sheltered and likely insane Blutigs. The daughters are both unbalanced, with Clara openly displaying her pyromaniac tendencies and twentysomething Virginia refusing to leave the house.

As Clara’s 18th birthday approaches, Lydia and George arrive at the Blutig house so Lydia can fulfill her duty as reader of matriarch Beth’s will. While the family’s tutor Mondrian Devonwiler woos Beth’s soon-to-be-rich daughters, Lydia remembers her departed aunt and struggles to determine the next move in her failing marriage.

“Vicious Virtue” may sound dark—and at times, it is—but despite the heavy story, it succeeds as a thoroughly enjoyable comedy. Playwright Melissa Fall imbues her characters with sharp wit and a good sense of irony, leading to verbal exchanges that are almost too quick to keep up with. Though the humor ranges from subtle to slapstick, the laughs are consistent.

The play’s writing is its greatest asset, but Fall’s clever script is aided by several notable performances.

With such an abundance of eccentricity around them, it’s nice to see Pamela Davis and Jonathan Brooks show restraint as the Overtons. Even with Lydia’s genius status and George’s dependence on fate, they are surely the most normal characters onstage. It is a credit to Davis and Brooks that they are never boring. Moreover, their self-control makes the inevitable outbursts all the more effective.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Blutigs, and they are played accordingly. Tova Kat charms as Clara, making her the kind of crazy you wouldn’t mind spending time with, as long as you hid the matches first. The character of Virginia calls for a more subdued performance, and Liz Granzow is adept at letting her appear sane with a constant undercurrent of Blutig weirdness.

But the most captivating performance belongs to Joshua Forcum as Mondrian. Whether sweet talking Clara or recounting his dubious upbringing, he walks the line between loathsome and charming, stealing every scene he’s in along the way.

With checkered tiles covering the stage, the set of “Vicious Virtue” is designed to look like a chessboard. What’s unclear, then, is who’s playing. There are the literal players—Lydia, the chess champion, and Beth, who plays against her niece in a flashback. And then there are players like Mondrian, a character who manipulates the pieces around him, guiding them to his own end.

There is no simple answer, no final revelation about who is ultimately in charge. Maybe that’s because—even with careful planning—the outcome still depends on chance. And if that’s the case, everyone is a pawn.

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