Review: Drama at its Best Continues With DOWN THE ROAD in Kansas City

Down the Road, a magnificent production of Andy Perkins continues at the Buffalo Room located inside the Westport Flea Market in Kansas City, Missouri. Lee Blessing wrote Down the Road a social-issue drama that unfolds inside a motel room and a prison. He has written two other social-issue dramas Two Rooms and Patient A.

Andy Perkins produces and co-directs Down the Road with Trevor Belt. Perkins said the production is something that he and members of the cast wanted to do since college. Joshua Gleeson designed the modest set with sound and lighting designed by Michael Hudgens.

Down the Road is the story of two journalists Iris and Dan Henniman who are commissioned to write a book that probes into the mind of convicted serial killer, Bill Reach and his heinous acts of murder. Reach tells the two that his actions are killings and not murders, because murders have motives. Iris is an experienced crime reporter, her husband Dan is a successful financial writer.

Reach immediately takes control of each interview as he describes the gruesome details of each crime. The two journalists soon become his puppets as he has them jumping through hoops in order to complete their novel, which they hope will become a best seller. Iris the seasoned veteran attempts to retain control, but like his victims succumbs to his will. Dan having never dealt with true crime has a difficult time dealing with not only Reach but also the gory details that come forth while interviewing him.

As one reporter is in the prison interviewing Reach the other is at the motel, dictating into a small tape recorder. Iris fixates in the tape recorder about a water heater tossed to the curb across the street, much as the decomposing corpses of the victims are abandoned in the woods by Reach. Dan gives a chilling oration about the rise of serial killings since the construction of the national highway system.

As the two begin to confront their thoughts and actions their closeness begins to suffer. First Dan wants to abandon the project, but is convinced to remain by Iris. Once Reach reveals the possibility of an undisclosed murder Dan decides he must help uncover the crime to put the victim and the victim's family at rest. Iris catches Reach in several embellishments, which begin to play heavy on her psyche.

Perkins not only produces and co-directs he stars as Bill Reach. His actions and reactions are so realistic that it is easy to believe he is the psychotic murderer. His facial expressions and his eyes give an air of lunacy as he sits and listens to the couple tear their relationship apart.

Kaitlynn Elizabeth is superb in the role of Iris Henniman. She gives an outstanding performance as she discovers Reach manipulating the facts of his crimes to draw reader interest in the book. Her real-life husband Joshua Gleeson plays Dan Henniman her husband. Gleeson gives a spectacular performance as he turns from the naive reporter to a person who thinks he is helping someone, the unknown victim of Bill Reach.

Trevor Belt, Michael Hudgens, Ellen Kirk, Seth Macchi, and Ben Auxier provide voice-overs for the production of Down the Road. Do not miss your opportunity to witness some of the most fantastic dramatic performances that have been produced on Kansas City stages this seas. Down the Road continues at the Buffalo Room through June 1. Purchase tickets at the door for $15. Photos courtesy of Andy Perkins.

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