Parczew 45 - Awkward Title, Great Play.

Let's get two things out of the way, first: Parczew 45 (pronounced par-chev) is well worth your time and money. Second: I don't normally like plays like this. I'm kind of tired of the the morally indignant citizen hunting down the war criminal and forcing said evil person to confront his crimes against humanity.

It's a tired trope that I could do without. But Parczew 45 put a fresh spin on what has, lately, become a tired cliché, and offered a solid hour of entertainment. Playwright and director Michael C. Nachoff even threw some curveballs in that I didn't see coming. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this, because I came into it kind of dreading it based on the description.

Adam (Craig March) has hunted down a man who wronged his family in WWII, and in the meantime, is kind of having a mental breakdown. He confronts Mischa Bartocha (Luke Day) at his home, accusing him of causing his mother's life-long grief. At the same time Adam wages an internal battle against his own perception of reality, memory, and death. From time to time we flash back to early moments in Adam's life to see how incidents with his wife and mother drove him to his current confrontation. It's pretty heavy stuff, but deftly handled by Nachoff, who has apparently made the jump from film to theatre with ease.

Craig March, having returned from a five year hiatus on the stage, is fantastic to watch. He carries the dramatic weight with ease, delivering an effortless and emotional 60 minute performance. He makes what could have been contrived entirely believable. Iris Paluly, as Adam's wife Madeleine, has fantastic chemistry with March, and within moments their relationship is established as passionate and likable. Luke Day and Kathryn Daniels are perfectly cast to round out this compelling ensemble.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Nachoff has assembled a fully realized production, with professional quality sound, lighting, set and costume design. One of the things that bugs me about Fringe is that many artists choose to skimp on production values, but Nachoff clearly put the effort forward even with the limitations created by the nature of Fringe. Set designer John R. Taylor and lighting designer Heidi Quicke have clearly worked together to craft a seamless, visually coherent look and feel that transports the characters from present reality to memory within seconds. I love it when simple lighting does the trick, and I love that they put the effort forward and succeeded. Robin Bajer's sparse but well-crafted sound design always adds to the mood and feel of the scene and never feels out of place or over-used. The hair, makeup and wardrobe team of Erika Duncan and Janet Lee Rose add that extra dimension of care, producing looks for each character that show who they are.

This was a fully realized production that I could easily see in a larger, professional festival, like Neanderthal or Spark. I hope Nachoff keeps working on this and is able to take it forward, because it's clearly worth the time and energy. If you're looking for some serious drama at the Fringe don't miss Parczew 45.