- Jeff Luppino-Esposito


There was something particularly uncanny about Randolph, New Jersey after the 40 minute trip down 287 and across 10. The houses looked similar to ours, the schools, the library, the police station, but you could sense something different, you could actually feel that extra half an hour away from the city. In our heads it was the land of witch-burning-Puritans and farms somehow mixed with images that we would normally call marks of home.

It was the perfect place then, the only feasible place really, where we could walk into a small, faded-red, wood building that looked too much like a road-side restroom, and be taken away into a world that those very same witch-burning-Puritans had banned at all costs in their day. It was the world of theatre, it was the Brundage Park Playhouse's production of "The Pillowman", and it was Martin McDonagh's frighteningly beautiful words coming to life through a thrilling cast that completely redefined our expectations.

When a local theatre puts on a production of "The Pillowman" they are presupposing two extremely difficult things; 1- That they will be able to assemble a cast worthy of an award-winning script, and 2- That they will be able to excite the community about a show whose central focus is the gruesome deaths and torture of innocent children. The Brundage Park Playhouse managed to pull off both. That small red hut (which was actually quite nice on the inside) was packed Thursday night for the fourth performance of the show.

Classic children's tunes humming through the speakers, playing over the appropriately minimalist set, was an early harbinger of what was to be an impressive directing job by Richard Norman. Still, I was nervous when the actors appeared, unsure of what to expect in this setting where I was waiting to be asked, "so who do you know in the show?" But like everything else about that night, it was one incredibly pleasant surprise after another.

For those unacquainted with the show, Pillowman is the Drama Critics Circle winner for Best Play in 2005, and rightfully so. The tale follows the haunting life of Katurian (played here by Joseph Brennan), a young writer who is being interrogated by the totalitarian government for a series of twisted child murders that bare a striking resemblance to the stories that he reads to his mentally-challenged brother, Michael (Jake Zillioux).

The two face questioning from a seasoned, loveably smug detective Tupolski (Brendan Naranjo) and the hardline, shoot-to-kill cop Ariel (Christopher Young). Meredith Ross, Brad Sims, and Alina Gilman provide the nightmare-sequence 'family' scenes that highlighted the professional level of the production and sent the audience's imagination running wild.

No doubt the script is a treat for the actors, but the cohesiveness and perfect characterization of the cast makes this production a must-see in its final two performances Friday and Saturday night at 8pm.

Joseph Brennan's story-telling at the lead role brings the whole show together with a pure picture of Katurian's passion for his writing that perfectly mirrors the conflicting passions of all the players. Whlie Brennan remains strong throughout the entire performance, taking on the burden of making the audience feel comfortable with bone-chilling themes, but the characters of the show make it all the more real. Brendan Naranjo comes out swinging with a Daniel Day-Lewis-esque voice that grabs the audience and makes us hang on to every word. Not a joke is lost with Naranjo, and he is the perfect distraction from Ariel's (Young) apparent inhumanity. Never fear, Young has his time as well, his development is by far the most impressive.

The hardest and, in turn, the most noteworthy portion of the performance is the one-on-one between Katurian (Brennan) and Michael (Zillioux) when waiting to be executed in a Beckett/Satre fashion. Brennan's telling of the story-within-the-story of "The Pillowman" is absolutely chilling and so uncannily realistic. However, in this one small part of the play, Jake Zillioux demonstrates a stage presence well-beyond his years as the 'child' of the family, the physical portion of his parent's "experiment." A lengthy conversation on a blank stage becomes remarkably enthralling and colorful when taken into the talented hands of Brennan and Zilloux.

There is no feeling like turning your cell phone back on after a performance and being shocked by how long you had been there. Not for a moment does this production let you go, and the fear it instills reminds us of those very feelings that must have frightened our Puritan ancestry of the stage centuries ago. I highly recommend the Pillowman to anyone* who is prepared to have their perception of theatre completely turned on its head, and the Brundage Park Playhouse production is the absolutely perfect chance to see it.

For more from the Brundage Park Playhouse, visit their website;I know I've already cleared my schedule for their July performance of Jesus Christ Superstar which will be directed by the incomparable Brendan Naranjo.

*Disclaimer: The Pillowman contains extremely mature content, scenes of intense violence, inappropriate language, and effed-up situations.

Some hauntingly pleasant tunes (and one just appropriately named):
Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant.mp3
Gary Jules - Mad World.mp3
Fleet Foxes - Drops in the River.mp3
MGMT - Kids.mp3
King Khan and The Shrines - Torture.mp3