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Never The Sinner, now being staged by Actors Theatre of Washington, begins as a fascinating charcter study of Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb, two lovers who decided to kill a man just because they could. The act was one of the first to claim "Crime of the Century" status, and watching the pair's relationship develop and their depravity unfold makes for some interesting theater.
In the first act, anyway. Then the play becomes a plodding courtroom drama that doesn't have much to say. We learn very little more about our two antiheroes (Loeb aches for his mother's approval and affection? Fine, but give us more), and instead are treated mostly to stump speeches from attorney Clarence Darrow (John C. Bailey, in a steady, impassioned portrayal).
The themes of the second act, ranging from the validity of capital punishment to the concept of hating the crime rather than the one who committed it, also get a bit lost in the muddle. And while some staging decisions can be amusing (a vaudeville-style scene, for one), others can seem annoyingly familiar — when Loeb becomes a marionette doll, it calls to mind a bit too quickly another tale of merry murderers from Cook County — Chicago.
The choice to have our three actors take on multiple, often flip-flopping roles also becomes confusing and distancing. One could understand the decision not to clutter up the stage with too many actors, but the action jumps around too much to be intelligible, and it reduces the performers to line-readers rather than characters.
Which is a shame, because the cast is pretty strong. As Leopold, Ashley Ivey walks the line between sympathetically vulnerable and contemptibly pathetic. Joe Brack may not have the kind of undeniable magnetism one might expect from his character, but he brings a boyish appeal to the part. Neither actor seems particularly vicious or violent, which is fine; they both nicely convey the kind of casual, haughty indifference that could eventually lead to deeming homicide a shrug-worthy act.
Actors Theater of Washington frequently gives us productions that are full of life, with a little edge thrown in as a bonus. Here, the material is a little beneath them, and despite some intriguing performances, there are enough staging missteps to acknowledge that the production needs some streamlining as well.
Never The Sinner runs through Nov. 19 at the Source Theatre. The company's Web site appears to be expired, so call 800-494-8497 for tickets. UPDATE: The show is pay-what-you-can through the weekend.
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This weekend (Fri., Sat., Sun.) is "pay what you can" so come out and see the show!
Who are the characters in the picture? Leopold and Loeb were both about 20 at the time of the crime, and not much older during the trial. Those two swell gents look to be a good ten years older, at least.
Nope, that's them. The actors aren't 20, that's for sure, but they seem pretty young; it's not too bad of a stretch of the imagination to peg them college age. Kind of like any actor on a teen television show, you know?