LA Review: 'The Sleeper'

Catherine Butterfield’s play, winner of the 2004 Kaufman & Hart Award for best new American comedy, takes place in 2002, when the U.S. was still reeling in the aftermath of 9/11. People were getting anthrax spores in the mail, the Bush administration ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, and patriotism, jingoism, and paranoia were the order of the day. The title refers initially to Gretchen (Mandy Levin), a formerly lively young woman who feels like a somnambulist because of her marriage to prosperous but insensitive businessman Bill (Pete Gardner). Since her marriage, she has abandoned her interest in making pottery and jewelry because she no longer feels she has anything to say. Instead, she concentrates her energies on raising her two children, volunteering at their school, and attending alarming lectures by experts (Heather Robinson and Rob Mathes) on anthrax and terrorism.

A chance meeting with handsome young Matthew (Benjamin Mathes) wakes her up and turns her world upside down. When he begins to flirt with her, she melts, responding like a plant to the sun. Discovering that he is a tutor, she hires him to help her son with his mathematics. And soon she’s launched on a full-scale, guilt-ridden affair with Matthew. He’s charmed by her naiveté and amused by her limited political intelligence: She can’t understand why the terrorists hate America “when we didn’t do anything to them.” When he tries to enlighten her and declares that “terrorism is as American as apple pie,” she’s first shocked and then suspicious. Soon she’s obsessed by the thought that he might be part of a terrorist sleeper cell (as a language student, he speaks Arabic), leading to loony and catastrophic results.

Director Stuart Rogers has assembled a fine cast and melded it into a stylish production. As Gretchen, Levin wilts under the influence of boorish Bill and blossoms when Matthew offers her much-needed attention. Mathes’ carefully calibrated ambiguity leaves us uncertain whether Matthew’s a charming seducer, a sincere lover, or even a terrorist. Gardner etches a hilarious portrait of the egocentric bully Bill, and Corie Vickers contributes a funny turn as Gretchen’s would-be sexpot sister. Robinson scores in a double role as Gretchen’s overly permissive therapist and the anthrax lecturer, while Mathes as the fear-mongering terrorism expert and Ian Gould as a savagely opinionated toy-store salesman provide clever comedic cameos.

Presented by and at Theatre Tribe, 5267 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. May 25–July 28. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m. (800) 838-3006, www.brownpapertickets.com, or www.theatretribe.com.