A Review

Embers vs. Flames

By R. J. Donovan

“Burn This,” at the Huntington through December 12, is Lanford Wilson’s drama about a dancer’s tragic death and the turmoil it inflicts on friends and family.

First staged in the late 80's by New York's Circle Rep (which Wilson co-founded), "Burn This" is the story of Anna, a choreographer who lives in a New York City loft with two gay friends -- Larry, an ad exec, and Robbie, her gifted dance partner. Rounding out her life is her boyfriend, Burton, a privileged screenwriter.

Prior to the curtain, Robbie has been killed in a boating accident and Anna has attended the funeral, where she was swamped by his family.  A huge family, in fact, most of whom did not know really know who he was, had not been in touch with him in years and had never seen him dance.  At the services, Anna (Anne Torsiglieri) has been treated as the grieving widow, either in a refusal to acknowledge Robbie's homosexuality or an outright ignorance of who he really was.

Enter Pale (Michael Weiss, left with Torsiglieri), Robbie's rough-edged Stanley Kowalski-kind-of brother, who barges into the loft in the middle of the night to collect the meager possessions of the deceased. 

Sparks fly. But Anna, who fills her life with work, wants no part of him -- in fact, she's afraid of him.  He's the antithesis of her adored Robbie, yet she winds up with him by the final curtain. And the amount of time it takes to get to that ending is lengthy, despite its inevitability.

Michael Weiss, who has the perfect look and sound for the role of the erotic, overbearing Pale, doesn't strut as much as shoot around frenetically. He's dangerous, enraged and in everyone's face. Yet despite the macho braggadocio, there's a muddled, confused vulnerability that eventually surfaces.

Pale is a study in contrasts. He’s the tough guy with a gun, but he’s so detached, he loses it. He’s a homophobic bully, yet his hands fly and flutter when he speaks. He’s repulsed at having seen a picture of his brother’s same-sex partner flaunted in a magazine, yet he nonchalantly dons a woman’s lavender robe as he fusses in the kitchen making a pot of tea (actually scalding the pot first).

Brian Hutchinson is Burton (left), the guy who’s hardly had to work at life only to realize that his safe relationship with Anna was never going to prove satisfying for either one of them.

And as Larry, Nat DeWolf (at right) has some of the funniest lines in the play, touching on everything from Jerry Falwell and Opera Queens to corporate Christmas cards and gay New Year's Eve parties.

Director Susan Fenichell forces the first act to the point that the actors (particularly Torsiglieri) deliver their lines at a feverish pitch. As a result, some of the early monologues that are meant to provide character insight appear stiff and strained. The story and characters spin around one another with manic determination for almost an hour before finally settling in around the time Pale has an emotional meltdown.

In the end, there are four competent performances that might flame brightly if they connected more vividly. Right now, “Burn This” displays passion more than it creates it.

"Burn This" is at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Avenue in Boston, through December 12. For information, call 617-266-0800 or log onto www.huntingtontheatre.org.

Production Photos: T. Charles Erickson

-- OnStage Boston

11/20/04