No matter what you think about guns in schools, this short, but very thoroughly argued, play reveals the complexities that take place when there is a “good guy with a gun.” David Rambo’s penetrating portrait features middle school teacher, Anna (Evangeline Edwards), after her heroic take-down of a teen-aged shooter. However, instead of a hero’s ticker tape parade, she is interrogated by the police (Suzen Baraka and Wayne T. Carr, who play interchanging roles throughout). She asks more than once, “Why am I being treated as a criminal?” It is only one of the subtle interrogations we the audience are asked to contemplate from the confrontation between the teen shooter and the teacher who stops him. As the play proceeds, we are treated to the interchanging circumstances that determine how Anna’s gun came to be locked in her classroom desk drawer, and the revealing moment when we meet the young man (a sympathetic Logan Leonardo Arditty) who was the catalyst.
This intricate tale unfolds in a tiny upstairs space, graced with interchangeable furniture, so that, under the guidance of director John Perrin Flynn, the actors move gracefully from one “location” to another. Always, we are reminded of the inciting incident by an oversize police tape outline of a body sprawled across the space (designed by Jan Munroe). The spartan design for lighting (Dan Weingarten), costuming (Christine Cover Ferro) and sound (Christopher Moscatiello) go beyond their seeming simplicity to round out the performances. Rambo’s play manages to offer a well-balanced discussion of a difficult subject and, as such, it is a must-see event. Do not miss it!
Rogue Machine continues “A Good Guy” on Friday and Monday at 8pm; Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 7 pm through October 13th, on the upstairs Henry Murray Stage at Matrix theatre,7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90046. All tickets, $45.00; or student rate for $25.00; available online at boxoffice@roguemachinetheatre.com, or at the door (phone (855) 585-5185 to verify).
