First Run - May 3-9, 1996

BUCK'S DISCIPLE

Sometimes your best friends can be your worst enemies. A good friend knows many of your intimate secrets, the things that you would never tell your parents or co-workers. Unfortunately, knowledge can be power and trust can be betrayed in the blink of an eye. Information can be used for good as well as evil and, occasionally, it is hard to tell the difference.

Blake Yelavich's Buck's Disciple feels like the result of a bizarre union between an episode of Friends and a production of Deathtrap, and it touches on everything from Saturday morning cartoons to the differences between straight and gay men as it paints a picture of intrigue.

Buck, a fairly successful playwright caught in a fit of brooding about a bad review, is handed a series of surprises in the forms of a young playwright, Patrick, who worships Buck's work, and a not-as-ditzy-as-she-appears actress, Randi Gams, who needs Buck to help her prepare for a role in a slasher movie. Buck has no refuge from the lunacy and menace produced by these two because his roommate/best friend is out of town, locked in a St. Louis love nest with Diamond, a charmingly simple rocker with very clear priorities.

The plot twists that Yelavich runs his zany characters through make the inner workings of city council seem straightforward. At times, however, the show finds purchase and zooms to a new level, in part due to a talented cast. Brian Townes' Patrick is magnetic, with Townes bringing an almost palpable energy to the stage with his simplest gesture; Laura A. Walburg's Randi takes the word bimbo to a whole new level; and Kirk Addison's Buck provides a steady contrast to the chaos that surrounds him.

When coupled with an excellent set design by Yelavich and Addison, Buck's Disciple becomes a lighthearted romp that reminds us that our friends can be a great source of comfort and amusement. They can also be the only people who know exactly how to play upon our deepest fears.

(Adrienne Martini)

Through May 4, Thu-Sat, 8pm, at The Public Domain, 807 Congress. Tickets: $10 ($8 seniors, students, ACoT). Running time: 2 hrs. 474-6202.

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