Review: BUG is Delightfully Cringe-inducing but Leaves You Itching for Something More at SeeNoSun OnStage

Agnes is a tough, drug and booze-fueled, down-and-out bartender living in a seedy motel room somewhere in Oklahoma when her lesbian best friend brings a paranoid drifter named Peter over for a night of snorting, smoking and drinking. When Peter's conspiratorial stories begin to infiltrate Agnes's mind and convince her that their room is infested, their horrific love story quickly descends into a downward spiral of co-dependency, blood and bugs.

SeeNoSun OnStage's production of playwright Tracy Letts' (August: Osage County) BUG is intended to leave its audience questioning how we relate to reality. Do we believe Peter's tales? How does anyone buy into such outlandish conspiracy theories? Can we too see the bugs? While director Michael P. Wright's production is extremely effective at making its audience delight in wincing and cowering in anticipation of the inevitable, it fails to leave one questioning deeper truths. Instead, we're convinced that what we've just witnessed is the tragic--if captivating--outcome that too often results from toxic cocktails of trauma, mental illness, and drug-induced psychosis.

Wright's natural staging and tight pacing keep things moving and allow the audience to sink into the action in the effectively seedy and familiar, single-set motel room. He uses blood, gore and pain with the deftness of a true master of horror (aided by the make-up effects of Alex Brewer). Had he taken such care steering the character arcs of his capable cast, perhaps he would have come closer to achieving his full vision.

It takes a while to warm to lead Kimberlee Wolfson's bold portrayal of Agnes, which would seem more realistic in a larger proscenium house than the intimate black box of the Anacostia Arts Center. Although she starts off too tough and emotionally weathered to believe that she is also sufficiently vulnerable to fall for Peter's needy delusions--she does eventually get there. Indeed, by the time Wolfson delivers her character's culminating monologue there's no doubt that she has drunk the proverbial juice, and her paranoid performance is absolutely riveting.

Matthew Marcus's young Peter also could have been dialed back a bit at the top to make room for his rapid descent into absolute madness. Even if Peter doesn't have to convince the audience that they should be questioning reality (although really, to some extent, he should), he does have to instill sufficient intrigue in Agnes to drag her down the rabbit hole. Instead, Wolfson's vulnerability appears to come solely from her character's own past loss and abuse, meaning we aren't left asking any of the big questions that Letts or Wright intended for us. Marcus's near constant drug use further removes any question that we are witness to little more than Peter's pre-existing mental health conditions coupled with the debilitating effects of self-medication. This leaves his performance more sad than disturbing, though no less compelling.

The supporting characters are intended to snap us back to some semblance of reality from time to time, and Jennifer Osborn (RC, Agnes's friend) and Aaron Tone (Goss, Agnes's abusive ex-husband) do an exceptional job of reminding us of the world Agnes is really living in. Dave Gamble's Dr. Sweet, however, falls flat of instilling any sense of doubt about just what is really going on.

BUG succeeds on some levels but misses the mark on others. Still, overall its Halloween-timed run makes for a unique and entertaining night out for those looking to mix up their standard fall festivities with some truly dark and disturbing theater.

BUG contains graphic sexual content, nudity and violence and is intended for mature audiences. It runs through November 1st (Thursday - Sunday) at 8:00 p.m. at the Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Rd. SE, Washington, DC. Runtime is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.seenosun.org.

Pictured: Matthew Marcus (Peter) and Kimberlee Wolfson (Agnes) in SeeNoSun's BUG
Photo Credit: SeeNoSun OnStage

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