Friendship tested, lies exposed





MAKING A SCENE—Above, Barbara Jackson (Julie Fergus) in a scene from“Pack of Lies”with Mr. Stewart (Brian Robert Harris), center, and Bob Jackson (Robert Weibezahl). Below, Julie (Samantha Togno) and Barbara commiserate. The show runs through Sunday at Hillcrest Center.

MAKING A SCENE—Above, Barbara Jackson (Julie Fergus) in a scene from“Pack of Lies”with Mr. Stewart (Brian Robert Harris), center, and Bob Jackson (Robert Weibezahl). Below, Julie (Samantha Togno) and Barbara commiserate. The show runs through Sunday at Hillcrest Center.

The truth hurts in “Pack of Lies,” the latest play by Panic! Productions, a community theater troupe based in Thousand Oaks. This 1983 drama by Hugh Whitemore may be unknown to many theatergoers but it is well worth the ticket. Based on a real incident, it’s the story of lies, loyalty and the clash between friends and country.

It’s 1960, at the height of the Cold War. Bob and Barbara Jackson (Robert Weibezahl and Julie Fergus) along with their teenage daughter, Julie (Samantha Togno), lead a well ordered but drab life in a quiet neighborhood near London. Bob goes to work while Barbara tends to the house, and everyone is happy.

Barbara’s mundane life is enlivened by her best friend, Helen Kroger (Kimberly Demmary), who lives across the street with her quiet and serious husband, Peter (Don McGreevy). Helen is loud, profane and full of life, the jolt in the arm Barbara needs to brighten her daily routine. Julie is especially smitten with “Auntie Helen,” who in turn adores the girl.

Then one day Mr. Stewart (Brian Robert Harris) shows up. He’s vague about himself—he’s somehow connected with Scotland Yard—and his intentions. He wants to use the Jacksons’ house for surveillance work, “just for a couple of days.” He smiles and laughs in an attempt to ingratiate himself with the family. The Jacksons reluctantly agree.

First Thelma (Sommer Branham) and then Sally (Tara Mc- Grath) arrive to spy on the neighborhood. Two days turn into weeks. Stewart gradually leaks some details of the operation. The audience will figure out what’s going on long before the Jacksons know: Stewart believes the Krogers are engaged in something sinister.

Barbara refuses to believe her BFF is a traitor, despite evidence to the contrary. She’s wrecked first by the strain of strangers disrupting her normalcy and then by the effort to hide what she knows from Helen. Bob struggles to keep home and hearth together while yielding to Stewart’s demands. And Stewart turns up the pressure as he feels the Jacksons weakening.

The play is a quiet piece, slow going at first, lacking a sense of danger or urgency.

The drama lies not in the plot but in how the relationships play out and how people make choices. The well-crafted dialogue grabs the ear, and there’s fine dialect work all around.

In particular, two monologues stand out: Barbara’s near- breakdown when she shares her anger at the situation, and Stewart’s sad but understandable confession that he is so devoted to his job he knows more about the personal life of the KGB head than the people on his street.

Fergus turns in a dynamic, animated performance. Her transformation from a contented housewife to a broken shell is heartbreaking.

Weibezahl has grown as an actor and presents his finest performance to date that this reviewer has seen. He’s a mousy character trying to appease both his wife and Stewart,

Togno is a likable, perky schoolgirl, shielded from reality by her parents.

Harris dominates the stage. He doesn’t yell because he doesn’t have to—he knows he has the power. He starts off as a hail-fellow-well-met but this act fades as he raises the stakes.

Demmary has energy to spare in her almost pushy efforts to maintain her friendship with Barbara.

McGreevy’s best moments are his short but powerful monologue and his attempt to rein in his boisterous wife at a disastrous Christmas party that’s more painful than jolly.

It’s an intellectual play for those who like their drama subdued and thoughtful.

The characters will linger in one’s mind long after the curtain falls.

Running time is two hours, 30 minutes.

“Pack of Lies” runs through Sun., June 21 at the Hillcrest Center of the Arts, 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.

For tickets, call (805) 381- 1246 or go to HillcrestArts.com.


 

 

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