The Tricklock Company has produced a play so intelligent and intense that in two hours you will not only be thoroughly entertained, but your perspective on guns and violence may change.
"The Glorious and Bloodthirsty Billy The Kid - The Greatest Serial Killer of our Time! Wild West Show and Cabaret," will run until April 13. It's presented as one of Wild Bill's infamous tours, in which Wild Bill and five other actors present the story of the life and times of Billy The Kid.
This breaks down to six actors running around for two hours and presenting a fascinating story that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
The story, as usual, begins with Billy's childhood and the acting is excellent. Kevin R. Elder plays Billy The Kid throughout the entire performance. When first introduced, Elder runs up on stage and trips on his own feet. During the show, this continues and creates some hilarious physical comedy as he portrays the deranged murderer.
Still, Elder's portrayal of Billy is also chilling. Toward the beginning of the show the transformation from the sweet little innocent child into the bloodthirsty murderer takes place. After a bar fight between Billy's mentor and Tiny Jack Malone, played by Chad Brummett, Malone begins to provoke Billy into shooting him.
For what seems like an eternity Malone teases Billy, begging him for a death he knows Billy isn't capable of. The scene is haunting, particularly because the audience is treated like they are characters in the show. The suspense is strong and the transformation of Billy The Kid becomes very clear.
From that point on, Elder shows an unpredictable wild man who acts like a kid with a gun.
The rest of the actors are just as powerful. Most of the actors are playing five or six roles, each with such distinct characteristics so that it is no challenge to tell them apart.
The minimalist set consists of a bunch of red cloth and a versatile piano, which is wheeled out at the beginning with Krist°n De La O lying on top of it and singing. As the play continues actors leap out of the piano or transform it into sets such as a saloon or a traveling circus.
Byron Laurie plays a charismatic Wild Bill, Kate Schroeder plays mostly Billy's love interest but also a slew of back flipping characters played with an intense seriousness and Summer Olsson plays a scarred prostitute who melts into each of the characters she plays.
Every actor does their part perfectly with such fierceness and passion that it is not hard to remain captivated.
The show questions America's blood lust and as Billy The Kid runs around and kills whomever he wants, the actors show the hype and interest America had in the murderer. Billy doesn't really understand it, but he uses his fame to his advantage.
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By the end of the show, it becomes sickening to see him kill and as the actors perform their final song and dance the music warps into a horrible tune as each person gets shot and killed repeated times.
The show was wonderful in every sense. The acting was top notch and the script, written by the Tricklock Company, crammed enough social commentary in two hours to kill a small pony. The Tricklock Performance Space is at 112 Washington Blvd. and tickets are available by calling 254-8393. For more information visit www.tricklock.com.
