Playwrights: Barbara Lhota and M.E.H. Lewis. At: Babes With Blades at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Tickets: 773-904-0391 or www.babeswithblades.org; $14-$22. Runs through: May 21
It's generally poor taste to speak ill of the dead. But in the case of Babes With Blades' world-premiere lesbian mystery drama 180 Degree Rule, I'm sorry to suggest that one major drawback to the otherwise impressive production could be due in part to an artist who is no longer with us.
As stylishly staged by director Rachel Edwards Harvith, 180 Degree Rule comes off like a labor of love, thanks to an abundance of creative theater work and engaging performances.
The moment audiences enter the theater space, set and projection designer G. Max Maxin IV conjures up an evocative movie-making world. Cluttered prop tables and a star dressing room flank the largely blank center stage canvas that allows for time-shifting video visuals by film director Carter Martin suggesting 1930s Berlin and Hollywood.
Costume designer Beth Laske-Miller adorns the ensemble cast with lovely period costumes to help delineate the different eras. Meanwhile, sound designer Leigh Barrett and lighting designer Laura Wiley team together to use distorted music and shadowy effects to create a fabulous aura of film noir-like mystery.
The cast of 180 Degree Rule is also strong, with many actors tearing into the emotional drama of the main characters struggling with love, frustration and regret. Particularly memorable are Kate Black-Speance as the plucky 1960s film professor Katie Dunham, who tenaciously investigates the rumored 1930s love affair between a reclusive German film actress named Margot Faber ( Lisa Herceg ) and the pioneering U.S. filmmaker Ruth Alice Bennett ( Amy E. Harmon ). Bennett not only dared to break the play's title film-framing rule, but she also died in a suspicious studio fire.
Clues are provided by former friends, like the British actor Gilbert Bailey ( Jason Andrew Narvy ) and the French film editor Hedwige Sourile ( Kimberly Logan ). Then there's also very characterful work by supporting actors like Tommy Bullington, Chris Cinereski and Kelly Yacono, who each get a workout switching through roles ranging from sycophantic press reps to brutish Nazi thugs.
Unfortunately, what sinks 180 Degree Rule is its script by Babes With Blades company member Barbara Lhota and the late M.E.H. Lewis. The mystery setup and witty banter by Lhota and Lewis are all promising, but the ultimate denouement comes off as a huge let-downparticularly since so many conspiracy theories involving spying, blackmail and studio interference fall by the wayside.
And those expecting lots of stage combata major reason for Babes With Blades' very existencemight also be let down by the relative lack of it, compared to past productions.
There's no denying that 180 Degree Rule is wonderful exercise in mysterious mood and period style. But without a satisfying conclusion to the script, all that loving labor lavished on the production ultimately rings hollow.