'Brilliant Traces' open with a bang at PerfNet

'Brilliant Traces' opens with a bang at PerfNet

By CHRISTOPHER POTTER

NEWS ARTS WRITER_______________________

Cindy Lou Johnson isn’t a household name, even among actors. According to actor Jon Bennett, “a lot of people in the theater community have never even heard of her.”

Well, there’s no law prohibiting a playwright from penning a single gem. And Bennett readily seconds the notion that 1977’s “Brilliant Traces” is “an awfully good play.”

Co-starring Zehra Berkman, Johnson’s two-character play opens next Thursday at Performance Network - “with a bang,” Berkman says, and she means it literally. In the opening scene, Rosanna Deluse of Arizona literally crashes through the door of Alaskan recluse Henry Harry (Bennett) in the midst of a snowstorm. To flee her wedding in the Sun Belt, she has driven nonstop all the way to this remote spot in the 49th state. And she collapses.

When she awakens two days later, she finds she’s been undressed, bathed and put to bed. "She wakes up in her underwear,” says , Berkman, "and she immediately thinks, ‘What happened? Have I been raped? Who is this guy? Is he some kind of maniac?’ ” In fact her host is a gentleman who wouldn’t dream of violating a damsel in distress. On the other hand, reclusive Henry is anything but pleased over suddenly having to share his snowbound cabin with anyone.

“Henry’s basically buried his emotions and shut out the world after suffering a traumatic tragedy in his own life,” Bennett says. “He’s become a kind of hermit as a drastic means of exorcizing the terrible pain he feels.”

Likewise, Rosanna is unable to cope with a tragedy in her own life - life “with a boring husband in a boring community where she’s lived all her life,” as Bennett describes it. “She decides ‘No way!’ ”

“So we have two very passionate people thrown into situations they can’t stand being in,” Bennett says. “The fact is, they’re wonderfully right for each other. But they have to be willing to realize that, not to mention merely acknowledging each other’s presence."

“Brilliant Traces” is directed by Eric Maurer, who recently sold his locally-made 1994 feature film “Killzone” to a major theatrical distributor. “With his film background, he’s very good at catching atmospheric nuances,” Berkman says. “He’s also very happy about doing a show about human relationships, instead of (a sci-fi-shoot-’em-up) like ‘Killzone.’ No guns, no blood, no gore.”

"Brilliant Traces" will be performed Thursday-Sunday, July 10-13, 17-20 and 24-27 at Performance Network, 408 W. Washington St Curtain is 8 p.m Thursday through Friday, 2 p.m Sunday. Tickets are $12 general, $9 students and seniors. Thursday is Pay-What-You-Can Night. For details, call 663-0681.