Questions, Not Answers In Bargain's 'Oleanna'

Drama Poses Complex Issues Of Harassment

"Oleanna," the current production of the Hard Bargain Players in Accokeek, will make you reconsider what you think you know about communication. It may remind you of the stories you hear every day about sexual harassment. It will make you question the validity of harassment claims. It will make you wonder about the differences between what is said and what we hear.

What it will not make you do is smile -- that's intentional.

From the get-go, the script by David Mamet draws you in. You meet John, a university professor on the verge of receiving tenure, during a phone conversation with his wife regarding the purchase of a house. He's vacillating between losing his patience and placating her. Enter Carol, a student with a bone to pick about her grade. What transpires between them over the next two hours is deep, disturbing and thought-provoking.

Carol initially wants to discuss the class, but the conversation takes many philosophical and personal turns. In the ensuing dialogue, we catch glimpses of her personal life and of John's, of insecurities and issues, of power struggles and power plays.

Later, Carol accuses John of sexually harassing her during that discussion, and by the end, what started as an innocent conversation about grades has grown into something much more nebulous and threatening.

As John, Matt Jordan is riveting. He takes the character from one extreme to another with ease. You see glimpses of him as an insecure child who never felt smart enough to succeed, intermixed with glimpses of a superiority complex. Jordan handles Mamet's difficult dialogue seemingly effortlessly. In a script where completing sentences is rare and interruptions are the norm, Jordan manages to deliver a solid grasp of his character.

Sara Joy Lebowitz is also quite strong as Carol. You watch her progress from an insecure and uncertain student to a confident and certain woman with an agenda. She makes the physical transformation with costumes, posture and mannerisms, and there's no doubt that her confidence grows throughout the course of the play. In an extremely challenging role, her emotional progression doesn't quite carry the same conviction as her physical makeover, but this is an amazingly complex feat to pull off.

This production includes strong stage-combat choreography for which the actors and director deserve credit. It's difficult to make staged fights look believable, but they achieve it.

The set is straightforward. A desk, a couple of chairs, a rug and a trash can provide the essence of a professor's office. Brian Donohue's sound design was simple -- an insistent telephone and a haunting rendition of the song "Inchworm" were all that was needed. In true Hard Bargain style, the performance takes place under the stars, but the troupe boasts a new covered seating option in case of rain.

Both Mamet in his script and director Randy Tusing have chosen not to provide clear-cut answers in this show. Did John really sexually harass Carol through the course of the play? If so, did he do it intentionally? Was it meant to be so subtle that she might not take notice? Did Carol fabricate the harassment to further her own cause, or did she truly feel victimized? The author and director leave it to the audience to decide when and how -- or if -- any sexual harassment actually happened.

What is clear is that what is said is rarely what is heard. This production will likely make you consider every conversation you have in a different light, which is atypical in an evening of community theater entertainment. Go. Watch. Wonder. And think.

"Oleanna" will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Amphitheatre at Hard Bargain Farm, 2001 Bryan Point Rd., Accokeek. For reservations, call 301-392-9901 or e-mailreservations@hbplayers.org. For information, visithttp://www.hbplayers.org.