Ellen Fairey's, "girl, 20," now at the Hudson Mainstage, is a provocative drama that takes us for a jolting psychological gallop before fading in the stretch.
The story is set primarily in a campus mental health clinic, where students receive free counseling sessions -- provided that they are willing to have their sessions filmed for later study. Pot-smoking film student Marty (Robert Belushi, son of Jim) has a gig running the antiquated equipment at the clinic, where he meets Sam (Madison Dirks), the intense grad student with whom he will be working.
Hidden behind a two-way mirror, Marty films while Sam observes. A maniacally chatty extrovert, Marty repels and fascinates the emotionally isolated Sam, who has developed an obsessive crush on Jade (Rachel Sondag), an "anonymous" student in the program. When Sam learns Marty has had a one-night fling with Jade, the simmering acrimony between the men flares into violence.
Fairey has a distinctive dramatic voice and a knack for crafting compelling characters. But her gripping tale takes an 11th-hour detour into the nonlinear.
Despite that, "girl, 20" is a dream acting vehicle for its three performers. Belushi and Sondag are holdovers from the Chicago premiere, which was directed by Matthew Miller, who also stages the L.A. production. Miller's tautly naturalistic tack brings out the best in his able cast. Sondag is evocatively enigmatic as an aspiring writer whose wry facade covers sadness, while Belushi taps into the unexpected cerebral quality of his hard-partying slacker. As for Dirks, he masterfully charts the meltdown of his twitchy perfectionist, who compulsively studies others while never forging the human connection that would save him from the calamity we sense is his fate.
-- F. Kathleen Foley
"girl, 20," Hudson Mainstage, 6539 Hudson Theatre, Hollywood. 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Saturdays. Ends Oct. 20. (323) 960-7726. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
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