FICTION
by Steven Dietz
at Capital Stage

There’s an old adage in theatre that audiences attend with ‘a willing suspension of disbelief’. That is to say that they willingly set aside the truth and accept the fact that Peter Pan can fly even though the wires holding him up are plainly seen. That applies to theatre, film, and especially literature. But what if we believe every word we read? Can fiction become fact? Is something true simply because we believe it? In 2003 author James Frey wrote a memoir of his struggle with addiction called ‘A Million Little Pieces’. He was lauded as a troubled genius with a brilliant future, and America loved him. When the truth came out that a portion of the book (in fact, only one incident) didn’t really happen, we felt betrayed; so much so that we salivated when Oprah Winfrey ripped him a new one on national TV. The truth hurts, but lies can be devastating. 

Linda and Michael Waterman, played by Janis Stevens and Eric Wheeler, are two novelists. He’s a Hollywood success story who considers himself a hack, and she’s a self proclaimed ‘one hit wonder’, having written one successful book followed by a stream of failures. Their marriage thrives in an environment of verbal wordplay and no illusions as to each other’s talents. You could see them forty years from now, strolling along the banks of the Seine in Paris, pleasantly squabbling about their pet topic-the greatest rock-and-role vocal performance of all time. She’s a Janice Joplin fan and he’s a John Lennon supporter. That’s how they meet in act one, and how they SHOULD spend the rest of their lives together-squabbling. But instead, Linda is diagnosed with a brain tumor “the size of a plum” and is given three weeks to live. She wants to spend that time really getting to know her husband, getting down to his core. She wants to read Michael’s journals.

They’ve both kept a series of journals over the course of their 15 years together but neither had any desire to read the other’s before, whether out of respect or fear, but probably a little of both. Michael reluctantly turns over his journals, boxed in an antique captain’s trunk in chronological order with a laminated index under the lid, and leaves her to her reading.

After plodding through Michaels florid verbosity, acted out with comedic vigor by Eric Wheeler, Linda reads about Michaels meeting with Abby Drake, a woman he meets at a writer’s retreat shortly after Linda’s one successful book was published. Abby is a peculiar young woman with an intense stare. Stephanie Gularte plays her with an almost magnetic attraction. You’re not quite sure if she wants to rip his eyes out, or just ask him a question. But the attraction is there, and Linda reads of their affair for the next twelve years.

Janis Stevens (and I’ll say this right up front-I’m a Janice Stevens FAN) is an amazing presence on stage; cool, sophisticated, with a vulnerability seething just below the surface. Her husband’s betrayal strikes a devastating chord, and her attempt to hide her own ‘fiction’ is a tangible weight on her shoulders.

Eric Wheeler as Michael changes flawlessly from the flowery prose of his journal scenes to his devastated reality. He’s a man who’s about to lose his best friend and no matter what he does he can only make it worse. Eric plays a likeable, funny guy who only lies to himself. He also reminds us that this isn’t just a drama. He makes the tragic bearable with his charming presence.

Stephanie Gularte as Abby soars through a very difficult role. She has every beat, every quirk of this woman down to a T. This is important because you have to pay attention to what Abby does to understand and put all the pieces together later. Fortunately, Ms. Gularte makes this easy for us; you can’t help watching her every move.

‘Fiction’ is a complicated and sophisticated piece of theater. It deals with how we see ourselves, and how we wished others saw us. Do we remember what actually happens or do we remember what we wished actually happened? It’s also something of a ‘who-done-it’. It’s a piece where every sentence is a clue and every beat is an ‘A-ha’ moment. At the end of the night you have this adrenalin rush and you can’t just go home; you and whoever is with you HAVE to go get coffee and compare notes.

Fiction plays through February 28 at Capital Stage on the Delta King Riverboat in Old Town Sacramento, 1000 Front Street, Sacramento, CA 95814  http://capstage.org/