‘True West’

Langhorne Players tackles the 1980 Sam Shepard play.

By: Stuart Duncan
   Through the years, Langhorne Players has tackled plays that challenge both the performers and the audiences, and True West, which opens its 59th season, is certainly no exception. The 1980 Sam Shepard drama not only has a complex plot, but memorable characters that may well stay with you for days.
   The story revolves around two brothers, Austin and Lee. The former is a screenwriter who, at the moment, is house-sitting for his vacationing mother at her home in Southern California, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles, on the edge of the desert. His brother Lee shows up, apparently to practice his skills at thievery — just a few neighborhood homes and just a few household appliances — enough to get along. Getting along apparently means a goodly supply of six-packs and enough other booze to wash the suds down.
   The show progresses in a series of nine blackout scenes (two acts). We meet a Hollywood producer, Saul, who shows up to finalize plans for Austin’s screenplay to be filmed. But Lee takes over, spins a fanciful yarn that might just be another movie concept, challenges Saul to a golf game and then proceeds to substitute his ideas for Austin’s. As the evening goes on, it becomes obvious that the brothers are exchanging personalities.
   Langhorne director Robert Norman clearly has great understanding of the material and has cast superbly. Martin Daynorowicz (Lee) and Aaron Wexler (Austin) seem born to the roles. Veteran Marty Sherman finds the perfect niche for the character of Saul — somewhere between amusing and unctuous. And Pat Ellis appears late in the show as the mother returning unexpectedly to see the mayhem.
   Incidentally, when the show was revived in New York in 2000, John C. Reilly and Philip Seymour Hoffman flipped on opening night to see who would play which brother, and then alternated every evening from that point on. Hoffman won a Tony Award for his performance (he also, you will remember, won an Oscar for his role in Capote).
   And a second footnote: Shepard’s script calls for the constant barking of coyotes outside the kitchen window — not howling, you understand, but yapping and barking. "A distinct yapping, dog-like bark similar to a hyena. This yapping grows more intense and maniacal as the pack grows in numbers, which is usually the case when they lure pets from suburban yards."
   Director Norman went to extraordinary lengths to find such sound tapes. Shepard’s agent was not of help, but dozens of tries later, Norman found a Web site for a hunter who killed coyotes for a living. He had made tapes to lure the coyotes within range, and was happy to share the wealth. It is those tapes that are used in this production. The sound of crickets was easier.
   It was Shepard’s thesis that everyone has a "duality" within him or her. This strong staging certainly shows that.
True West continues at Spring Garden Mill, Tyler State Park, Route 332, Newtown, Pa., through May 13. Performances: Thurs., Sun. 7:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 8:30 p.m.; May 3, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10-$12. For information, call (215) 860-0818.