`RED LIGHT WINTER' HAS ROOM TO MATURE
Sun theater critic Mary Carole McCauley

Carrots probably don't do much to improve vision. But a new theater troupe taking its name from the orange veggie might help Baltimore audiences see the world with fresh eyes.

The inaugural production of Single Carrot Theatre , a company composed of recent college graduates, is brimming with potential. But not every ingredient in Adam Rapp's Red Light Winter is ready for consumption. Elements of the mixture have been unevenly diced. Some are cooked through, while others are nearly raw.

Red Light Winter, a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize, is about two former college friends vacationing in Amsterdam. Davis is a young editor on the fast track, an ubermale whose goofy exuberance barely masks his hostility. Matt is a perennially unpublished playwright battling low self-esteem.

Three's a crowd, and when the men share the services of a window prostitute named Christina, underlying tensions emerge.

The play is loosely based on Rapp's own experience, and is at its most complex and interesting when it dissects the relationship between the two men, showing the way that affection can coexist with competitiveness.

Still, there are gaps in logic, mystifying failures of imagination:

Why, for instance, when Christina comes into a large sum of money, does she continue as a prostitute? Because she enjoys the work? And why, when one member of the trio becomes ill with a sexually transmitted disease, doesn't that person's partner express even a momentary concern about possibly getting infected?

Despite these loose ends, director J. Buck Jabaily elicits strong performances from his cast.

As Davis, Aldo Pantoja combines a bullying aggressiveness with genuine concern for his friend. His performance hints that Davis depends more on Matt than the other way around -- an intriguing reversal of expectations.

Brendan Ragan almost is too attractive to be cast as the nebbishy Matt, but his good looks add an interesting dimension to the character. Matt is socially inept merely because he believes he is; his defects exist solely in his head.

Christina is both bilingual and a bit of a chameleon, and it is quite fascinating to watch actress Giti Lynn shift personalities every time her character switches languages. Lynn's performance, though, could provide more insight into what motivates this enigmatic woman.

Note to the squeamish: Red Light Winter contains graphic language and male and female frontal nudity.

The show's first sex scene, in particular, lasts about five minutes too long. Sure, the audience remains riveted; real life offers few opportunities to watch two people remove their clothes and climb into bed.

But, Jabaily could have conveyed the scene's crucial bits of information more economically. When a show's running time is 2 hours, 40 minutes, it is taxing our patience to watch an actor step v-e-r-y slowly out of his socks.

Another nit: A desk lamp should be repositioned to avoid blinding half the audience for the entire first act. It's a small detail, but one with a major potential for audience annoyance.

But these are quibbles. It would be unfair to expect Single Carrots' members to be fully developed artists while still in their early 20s.

Given a few growing seasons, chances are they'll take root, spread their leaves and tempt our palates. It's enough to make any theater-lover salivate.


mary.mccauley@baltsun.com >>>If You Go Red Light Winter continues through Aug. 19 at Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $4-$9. Call 443-844-9253 or go to singlecarrot.com.