The Woodsman

Pedophilia is the issue that drives Steven Fechter's thought-provoking play, which raises daunting questions. Foremost among them: Is recovery from a psychosexual disorder, however sincerely desired, even possible in the face of societal judgments? Such queries linger beyond the finale of this respectable albeit uneven outing.

Viewers familiar only with the 2004 film version starring Kevin Bacon will get a more elliptical narrative here. Opening with a recurring key motif of a prepubescent girl (Daphne Meyer), the play concerns Walter (Jacob Smith), whose casual demeanor conceals a troubled past. As his brother-in-law (Ezequiel Guerra) returns a handmade table to Walter's sparse digs, the backstory emerges. It accrues details during sessions with court-appointed therapist Rosen (Scott Rosendall), leading to Walter's disclosure to Nikki (Julia Plostnieks), the warehouse co-worker he invites to his apartment overlooking an elementary school.

That domicile's dubious aptness for a registered sex offender is one of several thematic signposts that Fechter admirably presents without explication. Others include Walter's surveillance of another child molester who scopes out boys on the playground, and the sporadic entries in his Rosen-prescribed journal. The screws tighten with the arrival of hard-line cop Lucas (Joe Miller), who operates as the cultural polar opposite of empathetic Nikki. Then, in Walter's pivotal scenes with 11-year-old bird watcher Robin (Meyer), the horns of the dilemma appear, with delicately unnerving force.

Here, as earlier, Fechter deploys a counterpunch character reversal that brings out the best in director Sabina Ptasznik's bare-bones approach. Otherwise, her staging is relatively competent, especially aided by Joe Luis Cedillo's effective sound design, but too often insufficiently nuanced. That liability most directly affects the male cast members, starting with Smith, whose efforts at ambiguity as Walter are valiant yet frequently half-formed. Still, he ignites opposite Plostnieks, who nails the contradictions within Nikki, and with Meyer, who is unaffected and convincing as Robin. Miller makes a full-throttle suspicious cop, which in fairness is how Fechter writes the role; Guerra brings at best surface bonhomie to brother-in-law Carlos; and Rosendall's shrink is sitcom-light. That said, a clear-eyed yet disturbing quality permeates "The Woodsman," and attendees who abandon their preconceptions may find it hard to shake off.

Presented by Theatre Unleashed at the Underground Theater, 1312-1314 N. Wilton Pl., Hollywood. Oct. 7-30. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. www.theatreunleashed.com.