By Christina Perryman
Halloween may be over, but if you are looking for a psychological thriller look no further than Player’s Club of Swarthmore. “Bad Seed,” written by Maxwell Anderson from the novel by William Marchs and excellently directed by Courtney Bundens, takes audiences on a journey that keeps you guessing the entire time and culminates in a “did that just happen?” moment.
PCS Theater presents “Bad Seed”, Maxwell Anderson’s gripping psychological drama adapted from William March’s novel.
The story takes place in the 1950s, perfectly captured through Jason Wylie’s costumes and Vince Raspa’s set. Soldier Kenneth Penmark (well played by Matt Repece) is preparing to head back to DC for a month, leaving behind his beautiful wife Christine (amazing performance by Bethany Bryant) and young daughter Rhoda (sensational job by Gabby Prince). The family lives in a an apartment complex owned by the affable Monica Breedlove (scene stealer Bev Smith) and her brother Emory (wonderfully played by Thomas-Robert Irvin).
Rhoda is a seemingly perfect child. Polite, well-behaved, dotes on her father, impeccable manners and dress, does well at school. Almost everyone loves Rhoda. However, Rhoda’s perfect mask starts to slip when a classmate, who won an award Rhoda coveted, drowns during a school picnic. Rhoda returns home completely unperturbed by the drowning, telling her mother she found it exciting. It turns out Rhoda was the last person to see the boy alive, and they had had an argument before he slipped into the water. As Christine begins to investigate her daughter’s involvement, secrets come to light, truths are told and the nature versus nurture argument takes center stage. Can a child, especially one from a loving home, really be capable of murder? And the ending…
The show is full of wonderful, compelling performances. In addition to the leads, Susan Bolt was terrific as school madam Miss Fern, Dan Wolfe was charming as Reginald Tasker, Chas Thomas was great as Richard Bravo and Scott Reynolds was good as Mr. Daigle. Angie Scholl was heartbreaking, yet occasionally funny as Mrs. Daigle, the mother of the drowned boy.
I was incredibly impressed by Prince. Her sometimes-sunny nature slipping into darkness, her total conviction that her actions were justified, her ability to terrify and charm the adults in her presence, were remarkable. I enjoyed her interactions with Michael Tarmin Yurcaba as Leroy. Yurcaba was another stand out. His character seemed dumb but he figured out Rhoda before anyone else and was able to switch back and forth from simple minded handyman to observant nemesis in an instant.
Lighting by Abraham Bogale and sound by Autumn Scouten helped determine the mood and underscore Rhoda’s dark turns.
If you go:
Two performance for “Bad Seed” remain at PCS – 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for students and children. For tickets or information, visit pcstheater.org. The theatre, at 614 Fairview Road, Swarthmore, has a plethora of upcoming shows including “Thanksgiving Play” opening Nov. 14, followed by “Hello Dolly” on Dec. 19.