Ghost Dancer

The road to you-know-where is paved with good intentions, we're told, and Robert L. Hecker's new play "Ghost Dancer" can be found barreling along that very highway. Billed as "a new political drama," the play is replete with the best of intentions regarding just causes, self-sacrifice, and political protest. It might seem to be just the ticket for a world of people bent on occupying something. Alas, what begins as a promising domestic drama with revolutionary tendencies all too quickly devolves into muddle-headed melodrama. With a case of rifles, a black pistol, and a shiny silver knife, plus a case of infanticide, the playwright finds his revolution while losing control of his play.

On a Caribbean island in the present day, the not-so-happy couple with a young baby are Tony Romero (Arturo Castro) and his wife, Lakota (Lilia Vassileva). Tony, who is Latino, spent time in jail following an earlier insurrection and seeks only a quiet life mourning his heroic father. Lakota, who is half Native American, has the fire of revolution in her veins and will do anything to turn her reluctant husband into a "warrior." Witnessing this domestic struggle are Tony's Uncle Luis (Jorge Acosta), who lives with our two protagonists, and Hector (Leajato Amara Robinson), who works with Tony at the local factory. Ultimately, Lakota, who we learn quite late in the game is also the daughter of an American congressman, takes matters into her own hands. This does help the movement get started, but not as Lakota planned.

Hecker is guilty of several sins made evident in Playwriting 101: insufficient motive for drastic action, character reversal, and (despite this being about a revolution) a meandering plot line. Several characters are given odd soliloquies (to God?), and in the play's latter stages there are some wince-inducing exchanges of dialogue. The worst/best of these is probably when Tony tells his Medea-style wife: "You're not my idea of a good mother!" The performers don't get much of a chance here, but Vassileva, Robinson, and especially Castro could yet prove interesting in different surroundings.

The title, which refers to a Native American tradition, brings in some leaden symbolism, with the play ending in a ghost dance. But then each act of the play has also begun with dancing: spirited Latin dancing skillfully executed by minor characters Francisco (Luis Salgado) and Rosario (Rosie Lani Fiedelman). Their footwork is the play's most convincing—and entertaining—element.

Presented by the Show Goes On Productions at the Mint Space, Theatre Three, 311 W. 43rd St., 3rd floor, NYC. Nov. 19–Dec. 10. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. (Additional performance Mon., Nov. 21, 8 p.m.; no performances Thu. and Fri., Nov. 24 and 25.) (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, or www.theatermania.com. Casting by Jamibeth Margolis.