It’s a time-honored tradition for the All American Male.  Grab a few buddies, a trusty canine, a few beers, a bag of beef jerky, and head out into the woods for a guys only retreat.  Craig Wright’s Lady is a peek into one such excursion- where childhood friends Kenny, Dyson and Graham, along with Kenny’s dog, Lady, head out into the Illinois forest to bond- only one of them doesn’t make it out alive.

This surprising One Act play takes the audience on a trip that has a lot at stake, and hopes we will hang on for the ride- I did.  The dense, cerebral, material (more than half of the show is a heated political argument) was well matched with a touch of comedy and a dash of good, old-fashioned, fight choreography.

What starts off as the frame-work for a manly good time quickly takes a turn to the dark side when we see how much baggage the characters have brought with them, far more than could fit in their little backpacks.  Kenny’s wife is dying and his method of coping is stealing her medical marijuana for his own use, Dyson’s son is about to enlist, and Dyson blames buddy Graham for his son’s sudden patriotic fervor.  Graham is a local politician, one who is slowly blurring party lines in the wake of September 11^th.  Though Kenny and Dyson were key players on Graham’s original campaign, they suddenly stop seeing eye-to-eye when Graham goes on record as supporting George W. Bush in his war, a man that Dyson calls “the stupidest man on the planet”.  Tempers flare as the scene plays out into the night.

The Zeitgeist Stage Company put together a great cast to take this trip into the woods with.  Michael Steven Costello as Kenny was goofy and lighthearted.  He gave Kenny a wonderful innocence and loyalty, almost as if he were playing the dog character himself.  When his dog is mistakenly shot in the second act (sorry to let the cat-out-of-the-bag, so to speak) I had tears not just in my eyes, but full out streaming down my cheeks.  Call me an animal lover, but his reaction was real; his emotion was palpable.  In my opinion he had the hardest character of all, having the inability to hide behind fighting and anger to touch the audience.  He was very good.  Craig Houk was an absolute powerhouse as Dyson.  Full of anger, tension, and entitlement, he shot through every scene and every intention with clarity and machismo.  He was the epitome of “butch”.  Brett Marks joined the players in the second scene as Graham and I found him to be the perfect balance between Houk and Costello.  He was regal, powerful and gentle, delivering his lines boldly but with perfect justification. He seems to be a bit younger than the other two actors but you couldn’t tell at all.  He certainly rose to the occasion.   Houk and Marks deliver a breath-taking fight scene, literally, I was holding my breath the whole time the two men wrestled on the ground in front of me.  There is no question that fight choreography by Meron Langsner completed the reality of this “world” for me- and it was exceptionally executed.  The intimate play space was lit charmingly by Jeffery Weed and the set was woodsy and inviting.  I loved the touch of realism added when Kenny starts digging a whole and doesn’t have to pantomime it.  David Miller’s design was thorough and I appreciated it.

Lady was my first opportunity to review a Zeitgeist production, and I am a fan.  The whole group was professional and friendly, and though they are a fringe company, offered nothing but a completely professional experience, from design to correspondence.  I look forward to having the opportunity to view their upcoming season, Private Fears in Public Spaces by Alan Ayckbourn (Tony Award winning writer from 2009!) is next on the docket.

Dyson confronts Graham.