BWW Reviews: THE BAD SEED from Street Theatre Company

Who among us doesn't love a suspenseful yet wickedly entertaining melodrama about an eight-year-old sociopath who lets nothing stand in the way of her lifelong quest to get exactly what she wants? Whether it's a penmanship medal, a crystal ball, a garnet from a necklace - or even to prevent a trip to the electric chair - young Rhoda Penmark, who is the very picture of sweetness and light and old-fashioned manners and deportment, has for more than 50 years mesmerized audiences, delighting them with her larcenous, murderous ways. Let's face it: Who among us hasn't had flashes/dreams of going all Rhoda Penmark on the people who are obstacles in our own lives?

Now, thanks to Street Theatre Company, angel-faced demon Rhoda Penmark is brought to life again in all her evil glory in a stunning revival of The Bad Seed. Confidently directed by company founder/artistic director Cathy Street, this is The Bad Seed as you've always dreamed it:  superbly acted, elegantly designed and menacingly paced so that it delivers an even bigger emotional wallop than might be expected. Sure, it's a hot box of of  crazy being played out in The Bad Seed, but it is also a well-paced stage thriller -  campy fun mixed with psychological overtones - starring a scary little girl who's almost guaranteed to haunt your dreams for nights hereafter.

If confession is good for the soul, let me bare mine now: I have loved The Bad Seed since I first saw the film version starring Broadway veterans Patsy Kelly and Patty McCormick and the subsequent viewing of the piece onstage has only deepened my connection to the piece. What can I say? For a former crime reporter (who, thank you very much, has even been on America's Most Wanted pontificating about serial killers) cum theater critic, The Bad Seed represents the very best of both worlds.

So, it was with more than a few trepidations that I approached opening night of Street Theatre Company's The Bad Seed, hoping against hope that it would live up to my lofty expectations. The verdict? It's better than I could have ever imagined, brought to life with such intensive vigor and such commitment that it exceeded every one of my hopes. To her credit, Cathy Street has infused the production with a heightened sense of art and presentation, drawing upon the inspiration of film noir (the show's visual aesthetic is an artful blending of black, white and all the shades of grey between - save for the brilliant reds in Rhoda's costumes) in bringing her focused vision for the play to the piece. In a director's note in the show's playbill, she writes of her love for "mysteries...and good old-fashioned suspense," which should allay all fears immediately.

Street and her exceptional company of actors and designers have approached the work with their eyes on the same prize: Delivering a play to the stage with style while playing it completely straight. In so doing, they have succeeded in bringing The Bad Seed, best known for its campy film trappings (who will ever forget the "curtain call" that comes at the end of the movie?), into the 21^st century, entertaining audiences more accustomed to modern-day slash-and-dash horror films  and, thereby, making the play (which debuted on Broadway in 1954, less than a year after William March's book of the same name was first published) relevant and contemporary.

But think about this: As shocking as The Bad Seed is today, at least as presented by STC - replete with sumptuous musical underscoring, written by and performed by the uber creative Rollie Mains - can you imagine how mid-1950s audiences must have responded to seeing the deeds of the devilish Rhoda Penmark play out onstage? Just thinking about it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, just as they did on opening night.

The production is beautifully designed. Rich McCoy's exemplary scenic design provides the appropriate backdrop for the play's 1950 Savannah, Georgia, setting, while Lynda Cameron-Bayer's exquisitely designed costumes are ideal for each character, lending an air of credibility to the far-fetched events unfolding before you. The lighting design, by Steven Steele, is near-perfect - the first visual treatment you see when you settle into your seats is a lighting effect that recalls the murky waters into which sweet, little Claude Daigle is pushed on the Fern Sisters' estate and its use throughout the evening helps to underscore the evil doings you are witnessing, as do the other tricks of his trade that designer Steele unleashes throughout the play. And, finally, congratulations to sound designer J.J. Street for creating some sound effects that are likely to send even the most prepared of audience members leaping from their seats in surprise and more than a little horror.

Director Street's vision for the piece, which is tremendously focused and yet extremely creative and thoughtful rather than provocative, is obvious throughout, but is perhaps most acutely felt in the collective performance of her exceptionally controlled ensemble of actors.

Cast as doting mother Christine Pemark, Lisa Marie Wright gives a performance that is nothing short of revelatory. Heretofore, we've tended to see her primarily as a comic actress, but it is her starkly dramatic performance in The Bad Seed that really shows you what she is capable of - proving that doing comedy is serious business and that most successful comic actors can deliver the goods in a far more dramatic setting. Eschewing any false sense of theatricality and overacting for a well-modulated performance that gains in stature with each passing moment, Wright is imminently watchable, her Christine eliciting sympathy and warmth from those around her, whether they are onstage or in the audience.

Lucy Turner, given the unique opportunity to add Rhoda Penmark to her already burgeoning resume of onstage roles, makes the most of the situation, playing Rhoda with an understated skill that much older and more seasoned actresses can only envy. Her Rhoda, as icily appealing as anything Grace Kelly ever delivered onscreen, skirts stereotype easily and gracefully flaunts the character's underlying sense of the mercenary only when it's appropriate. As the conniving, murderous eight-year-old, Turner is eerily frightening, her lovely and easy smile notwithstanding.

If Wright and Turner provide The Bad Seed with its fully fleshed-out and dramatic core, the other members of the cast could easily amount to so much gilding of the lily. But Street's cast is so uniformly consistent and so obviously devoted to the task at hand that you find yourself completely taken with their performances.

Linda Speir, playing the loud and overblown Monica Breedlove, gives a pitch-perfect performance as the meddling busy-body landlady, never over-playing the role even while having the time of her life bringing her to the stage. Speir's portrayal of Monica is just as good as you could ever hope her to be.

Adele Akin (as Hortense Daigle, the grieving mother of sweet, little Claude) gives a stellar performance, walking a very fine line as she displays the drunken character's grief-stricken histrionics with aplomb and style while never going too far in doing so. One of the region's most dependably gifted actors, Akin brings a certain sense of the best of Nashville theater to the stage in her every performance.

As Leroy, the simple-minded, libidinous caretaker at Monica Breedlove's apartment house, Jeremy Maxwell gives a controlled performance that is at once menacing and amusing, taking what could be an overtly comical role and giving Leroy a foundation of realism that is both attractive and exceedingly off-putting.

Veteran actress Kay Ayers, drawling her lines in a perfect Savannahesque accent, is an altogether prim and proper Miss Fern (Rhoda's school headmistress) and we are once again reminded how easily she can command the stage in even the smallest roles.

As Monica's fey - and probably latent homosexual - brother Emory, the always appealing Alan Lee effectively underplays the part. Rob Wilds is perfectly cast as Christine's beloved father, who holds the key to unraveling much of the mystery at the center of the plot. And Brad Oxnam plays devote husband and father Kenneth Penmark with a cool blending of period style and stage presence. Rodney Pickel proves an authoritative Reggie Tasker, the crime writer who helps unlock the vault containing Christine's long-repressed memories. And, finally, Doug Allen gives a strong performance as Mr. Daigle, the loving and long-suffering husband of Hortense and father of sweet, little Claude, who is never seen but whose presence provides a disquieting counterpoint to the cool calculations of Rhoda's psyche.

Just in case you haven't yet figured it out: I loved this production and while I think pronouncemenst of "go/don't go" are somehow lazy and derivative coming from a critic, I can't help myself. Go see The Bad Seed. And be prepared to be scared by an eight-year-old girl. She's creeptastic!

- The Bad Seed. By Maxwell Anderson. Based upon the book by William March. Directed by Cathy Street. Presented by Street Theatre Company, 1933 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville. Through June 26. For details, visit the company website at www.streettheatrecompany.org. For tickets, call (615) 554-7414.

Pictured: Lucy Turner, Lisa Marie Wright and Jeremy Maxwell

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