From the first few seconds of “A Lie of the Mind,” it’s easy to see why the play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard won The New York Drama Critic’s Award and other honors after it debuted in 1985.
This jarring snapshot of two families joined by the co-dependence of two of their members is as meaningful today as it was two-plus decades ago. It’s a good bet that it will have the same impact two decades from now.
The play opens with a heart-wrenching confessional phone call between brothers Jake (Tim Getman) and Frankie (Tim Andres Pabon). The show then moves into a roller coaster ride through mental illness, abuse, jealousy, anger, love and denial.
In just the first few minutes the audience is left to grapple with the dilemma of a loved one who has so completely broken down that he can’t aid in any part of his own rescue.
Although both Getman and Pabon give should-be-award-winning performances, it’s Gina Alvardo who steals the show. Her portrayal of the various aspects of Beth — from the screaming hysteria of the beaten and battered woman confined to a hospital bed to the flirty and playful young woman who longs for love and affection — is gripping.
You can’t help but believe that Alvarado is the loving and idealistic wife of Jake; she’s a guileless young woman who can’t surrender her love for her husband despite his merciless beatings that leave her brain damaged and physically helpless.
Although there are some fairly light-hearted moments in the play, most of it is a study in the struggle to survive. Beth’s brother Mike, as played by Cliff Williams III, is the loving sibling who fights to protect her against her husband’s fists, her parents’ denial, and her own innocence.
Beth’s father Baylor (Dan Manning) and mother Meg (Maureen Kerrigan) come across — due more to the script than their acting — as more one-dimensional than the other characters. The lumbering Baylor — who for all the world seems like Mr. Darling from the 1960s TV series “The Andy Griffith Show” — is locked in his own co-dependent world where women are meant to serve or else the men are somewhat helpless. Meg has glimpses of understanding into the severity of her family’s problems but wills them quickly away, almost like a modern-day Scarlett O’Hara.
Jake’s mother Lorraine (Valerie Leonard) and sister Sally (Natasha Staley) are a bit more complex; that’s especially true of Sally, who tackles a series of emotional hurdles as she fights to convince her overprotective mother of Jake’s cruelty.
The stripped down set, which generally consists of a few pieces of bedroom and living room furniture, is the ideal setting for this rich tapestry of family live, love and betrayal.
Without a doubt, “A Lie of the Mind” should be on everyone’s short list of must-see plays.
If you go
‘A Lie of the Mind’
Where: Rep Stage, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia
When: Through March 1
Info: $15 and up; 410-772-4900; repstage.org
