Dark Humor at Triangle

Green Finger

at the Triangle Company

through November 13

Set in contemporary Newcastle, England, Michael Wilcox's Green Fingers explores the intrigues surrounding a robbery trial. The play looks at the lives of a few members of homosexual society, and while many of the characteristics of a "gay play" are here--HIV, gay bars and the closet are all in evidence--the play is gripping because of its original characters and complex plot. At times the plot is too complex. The various tidbits of information about each character's history create a general confusion around the trial, and the relationships become muddied and unclear.

David Benson (Rob Mitchell), a boyish gardening fanatic, and Tony Pringle (Michael Keamy), his HIV-positive lover, are accused of stealing from the house of Henry Gordon (Michael Thurston), known for his "lavish parties" attended by a large percentage of Newcastle's gay population.

Pringle admits to the crime, but Benson pleads "not guilty"; the play centers on the lies and truths told on all sides to get him acquitted. To make matters more complicated, a Scotsman Lenny (Michael Fields) is out to get something from Gordon. And greenhouse tycoon Tinker McTear (Richard Yanowitz) has an interest in Benson's future. Although ultimately many of the loose ends are never tied up, the play ends with a sense that everything will turn out as it should.

Though the play maintains a tension between black humor and heartfelt sorrow, the production at times seems amateurish. This is due in part to the unfortunate attempt to create some form of a British accent, which makes Green Fingers resemble a well-acted high-school performance. And although the actors interact genuinely with each other, their movements on stage are often stiff, focusing on one repeated body movement to emphasize what the character is supposed to represent.

Still, each of the characters seems believable in Curt Miller's production. The actors do a fine job of highlighting the three-dimensional nature of these characters, who are sympathetic if not always honorable. Thurston plays the sniveling, pathetic figure of the party-giver and "sugar daddy" with a sufficient amount of groveling to make his character farcical but not iritating. Fields makes the switch to his various characters (a barman, a sergeant, Lenny) with ease and enhances the dark humor on stage.

Matthew Bernstein literally plays the straight man to the rest of the cast's antics, portraying the indignant homophobic lawyer with an energy that keeps some of the court scenes from dragging. Towards the end of the play, the courtroom arguments get tedious, broken occasionally by Richard Yanowitz's convincing rendition of a batty judge.

In their portrayal of the main couple which holds the plot together, Mitchell and Keamy create a believable tenderness. Despite a serious problem with his "British" accent, Mitchell plays the younger, innocent plant-obsessed boy with such sincerity that he takes the emotional center stage.

Most importantly, despite bringing up many of the trials and joys associated with this gay sub-culture, the play does not focus on them alone; they simply provide the background to an intriguing plot-line and a colorful cast of characters.