Director, The

All through Nancy Hasty's twisty, hugely entertaining new play The Director, I couldn't help but wonder what the late Lee Strasberg would have made of it. A psychological drama about a young playwright named Annie (the wonderful newcomer Tasha Lawrence) who calls upon a once-notorious theater director-turned-janitor (John Shea) to helm her latest play, it is one of the rare instances of theater genuinely turning on itself, an intriguing dissection of the dehumanization that can often result in "committing to the work" a little too much. Peter, the director of the title, is a self-proclaimed "dictator" with no stomach for the commercialization of the artform. He delights in creating a queasy, uncomfortable atmosphere for only the hungriest of actors. Annie is drawn to this bizarre man, a truly unconventional type who recruits a group of actors to give in to his unusual tactics, resulting in his domination of their weaknesses, something they all, including Annie, seem to find oddly alluring. They appear to be getting off on his dark side and become more willing to explore theirs, whatever the cost.

This premise is innately exciting, and as intimately and carefully directed by Evan Bergman, it understands the milieu with absolute clarity. In the first and more stirring act, Peter and Annie engage in a tense pas de deux that sets the stage for what's to come. One of the play's greatest strengths is that we never know what to expect from it; it veers from bitingly funny asides about the ridiculous nature of theatrical acting and delving into the process, to sinister melodrama and decadence. Playwright Hasty seems to know this terrain fairly well and does an admirable job of keeping us enveloped in both the conventional and peculiar sides of the action.

Shea is nothing short of riveting throughout, never making the character so odious he's unidentifiable but casting a spell over us that equals that of his co-stars. His scenes with Lawrence are crackling; they have a palpable sexual tension, and their clashes of personality suggest considerable depth. The play's more thrills-and-chills second act is well crafted and suspenseful but lacks some of the quietly ominous ambience the first has, possibly because a foreshadowed development (one this reviewer saw coming a mile away) turns the proceedings into a cheerfully ridiculous lark. Even so, it is hard to deny the snaky pleasure of it all, a rare case of a play taking you into bizzarro territory where you're fully willing to go. The game cast certainly does, especially Shea, who runs with every challenge he is presented.

The relatively new ArcLight Theater is an ideal venue for this production; it contributes to the intimate, subversive elements of the play, creating the illusion of being a victim of the director's commanding presence along with his impressionable pupils. I suppose this is all part of the master plan, but it is eerie and effective all the same. There's a fair bit of pulp in its veins, but The Director has the audacity to recognize that, and if you're on its spooky wavelength, it's ultimately very rewarding.