Theater review: 'Something You Did' at Theater J

Political discourse is one of the subjects of Willy Holtzman's densely topical "Something You Did" at Theater J, so there's no point complaining that it's melodramatic. What else could it be? In the real world, debates turn partisan; moral issues inevitably get cast as good vs. bad. We wrestle over history and shout to control the narrative. We don't do gray very well. And the talk isn't very graceful.

"He's the devil," declares Alison Moulton, the jailed antiwar activist in Holtzman's drama (which premiered two years ago and is getting an earnest, if not fiery, staging at Theater J). Alison is describing an old lefty colleague and lover who has morphed into a hyped conservative rant-master. In the play this figure goes by the name of Gene Biddle, but David Horowitz and Glenn Beck are his real-life analogues; Gene not only churns out books but also spouts political sanctimony on TV. Alison is based on Kathy Boudin, the Weather Underground radical who spent more than two decades in jail for her part in an armored-car robbery that killed two police officers and a security guard.

Obviously, this fictionalized history is terrific material for the stage -- an urgent topic with combustible characters, complex motivations to untangle and ethics to explore. ("Something You Did" is taking the place, by the way, of the previously announced "Imagining Madoff," which was withdrawn by its playwright when Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel objected to being rendered in that piece.) Alison, like Boudin, is the daughter of a famous liberal lawyer; in the play, Alison's late father's law partner, Arthur, counsels a meeting to see if Biddle will step off his high horse and help her get parole after decades in prison. As the diplomacy and strong-arm tactics unfold, Holtzman even revisits the 2008 campaign issue of Barack Obama's ties to political radical Bill Ayers.

While Holtzman keeps his drama to a tight 90 minutes, the going gets sluggish as the characters drag mountains of sordid cultural and personal baggage into full view; it's a whole lot of back story to heave into conversations. That may be part of what's keeping Eleanor Holdridge's cast from fully sinking their teeth into one another's necks. The performance is oddly cautious for nearly an hour, even though the play is crafted as a series of crossfire faceoffs.

You're led to hope, for instance, that sparks will fly as Arthur goes behind Alison's back to win Biddle's support. But despite Norman Aronovic's grandfatherly take on Arthur's caginess and Rick Foucheux's sinister power as Biddle, the actors can't find the cadence of discord. Of all things, the scene lacks conviction.

The passion is also writ small when Alison meets Lenora, the daughter of a slain policeman. Aakhu Freeman brings haughty dignity to the role, but the character's righteous anguish doesn't feel lived in. Too little does, in this play about matters that often careen past ideology to nest, seething, in the heart.

Lolita-Marie is given some funny lines as the corrections official who befriends Alison and chafes at Biddle (one of the many ways we can tell heroes from villains here), and the actress adroitly delivers Holtzman's comic relief and softer tones. But as Holtzman's play boils down to a showdown between a tarnished angel and a rat, it's Hazlett who gives the evening dimension and heft. You can see the wear of years in her subtly fatigued bearing, hear the weight of guilt in her nearly flat voice. Foucheux, who can be a slugger of an actor, only sometimes gets all the way inside the mind of a political opportunist with a gift for making fearful, tearful catchphrases sting. Hazlett, though, becomes the real deal. She delivers exactly what this melodrama requires: a heroic performance.

Something You Did

by Willy Holtzman. Directed by Eleanor Holdridge. Scenic designer, Luciana Stecconi; lights, Jason Arnold; costumes, Frank Labovitz; sound design, Veronika Vorel. About 90 minutes. Through Oct. 3 at the DCJCC's Goldman Theater, 1529 16th St. NW. Call 800-494-TIXS or visit http://www.theaterj.org.