Theater review: ‘Under the Skin’ at Circle Theatre

Most of us are glad to give our hearts to loved ones. But would we give ’em a kidney? That is the question under the knife in Under the Skin, a 2015 dramedy by Michael Hollinger currently up at Circle Theatre.

At the center of this organ recital, which opened Saturday with the playwright in attendance, is Lou (Mark Fickert), a Philadelphia carpenter whose special talent is shaping wood trim, such as an ornate finish to a stair rail — which, Lou teaches us, is called a “volute.” He needs a kidney transplant, but fears that he will not live long enough to make it the top of the donor list. So he turns to estranged family members for help.

The problem is that Lou is a lot better with wood than he is with people. He has left a sorry trail of domestic indifference en route to his hospital bed, so his daughter, Raina (Alexandra Lawrence), is less than enthusiastic when Lou suggests she hand over a vital organ.

She has a hard time looking past her self-centered dad’s many misdeeds and faults, which include an apparent inability to remember the name of Raina’s young daughter, whom Lou has never seen. Raina has a hard time justifying giving Lou the time of day, much less a body part.

As the father and daughter spit and spar, things become even more complicated with the arrival of a couple of other characters who cannot be discussed without giving away too much. Suffice it to say that Lou has made a much larger mess of his life than Raina imagined.

The performances in this production, directed by TCU drama professor Alan Shorter, are largely solid. Sam Henderson, who plays a character named Jarrell (no further explanation can be given), is a joy to watch. He graces his performance with an exceptional smoothness that makes Jarrell come across as infinitely credible and sympathetic. Because he lives the role so thoroughly, he is able to realize the full potential of every line Hollinger gives his character.

Many of the same things can be said about the work of Stormi Demerson, who, like Henderson and Lawrence, is making her Circle debut in this show. She plays three roles, including Lou’s doctor, and is first-rate in every guise.

Fickert and Lawrence also turn in superior characterizations, but both are guilty of technical flaws. Lawrence has a tendency to shout her lines, and Fickert tries to sell a Philly accent with just a word here and there, rather than shaping his whole approach to that end. And, because none of the other characters have regional American accents, it is hard to understand why he needs to go there in the first place.

There are several memorable moments in Hollinger’s script, and even a couple of shocks. But, overall, this show seems to be suffering from an identity crisis.

In attempting to serve so many masters, it ultimately satisfies none. It is also verbose to the extreme and, despite the best efforts of Shorter to inject some movement into the festivities, there is only so much a director can do when one of the main characters spends most of the show in a hospital bed and everybody else just yak, yak, yaks.

Perhaps most problematic of all is that much of the impact of this show relies on the audience buying into a coincidence that has hit-by-a-meteor-like odds.

But that will not keep me from looking forward to seeing Hollinger’s name on the program at Circle.

This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Theater review: ‘Under the Skin’ at Circle Theatre."