Ensemble almost captures 'Hearst'

By Gina Perille, Globe Correspondent, 10/17/2003

With a brave mix of historical facts and creative fiction, local playwright Bill Lattanzi has turned the bizarre Patty Hearst story into a raw and engaging play. "Pictures of Patty Hearst" uses flashbacks and overlapping montages to fill in the events leading up to the newspaper heiress's 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a band of urban activists turned terrorists. Hearst's time in captivity, her torture, her membership in the rebel "army," and her eventual arrest by the FBI are also detailed.

A six-person ensemble plays multiple roles, ranging from members of Hearst's family to the band of would-be revolutionaries who are her physical and psychological captors. Brendan Scoggin, who looks like a thuggish John Cusack, is impressive in his various identities. So is Christina Grance, who glides between a naive yet violent kidnapper and a hard-edged, wimple-wearing nun.

Kimberly Green is somewhat passionless in the title role. That's unfortunate, since much is made of Hearst's magnetism and special spark, of which Green demonstrates very little. Whether by design or by default, Lattanzi's play is more effective in sketching portrayals of the SLA captors than it is in dramatizing Hearst herself. Or perhaps it's just one more testament to what a convoluted life she has lived.

Lattanzi wrote "Pictures of Patty Hearst" with several sections of overlapping dialogue, in which actors deliver snippets from news reports or embody voices from Hearst's past. This crafted chaos fuels the sense of how elusive the truth of the case is, but the execution by this group of actors falters at times. It is surprisingly difficult to hear and understand some of the spoken lines, even given the shallow stage at Boston Playwrights' Theatre. Complicating this situation is a lack of clarity around which role an actor is playing during these rapid-fire overlaps. When there isn't a visual cue -- a hat, a jacket, or eyeglasses -- it is sometimes difficult to know which character is speaking. The ensemble is a capable bunch, but the actors should take the time to make clearer delineations.

The production has the unusual addition of a live drummer (tucked backstage) who vividly punctuates the action and accompanies scene transitions. It's a bold juxtaposition to the numbing of Hearst's identity, and enhances the play's caustic feel.

In the same way that the story is pieced together fragment by fragment, Ethan Kaplan's lighting design uses shards of light effectively, painting the stage section by section. Newsprint-themed costumes by Mark Pearson add to the sense that events are taking place in a media-soaked world, as does Marc Olivere's set, which manages to evoke prison bars and magazine photo spreads. Under the skilled hand of director Sidney Friedman, all these design elements work together. Friedman also keeps the action working at an appropriately aggressive pace. Characters do not linger or lag. They work urgently, always reflecting the life-and-death situation at hand.

This production of "Pictures of Patty Hearst" is entered in the 2004 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival playwriting competition, and features the acting and design work of several Boston University students.

Pictures of Patty Hearst

Play in two acts by Bill Lattanzi

Directed by: Sidney Friedman. Set, Marc Olivere. Costumes, Mark Pearson. Lights, Ethan Kaplan. Sound, Benjamin Young. Stage management, Greg Livoti

Presented by Boston Playwrights' Theatre

At: Boston Playwrights' Theatre through Sunday, 617-358-7529.

www.bu.edu/bpt