Interrobang's "The Argument" Masterfully Macabre

You will never hear George W. Bush utter the words "Brownie, you're doing a helluva job" in Greogory S. Moss' macabre drama "The Argument" which is currently being masterfully staged by director Jeffry Stanton for the Interrobang Theatre Project. This post-Katrina story follows orphaned twin sisters Ana and Mia who have inherited a dimly lit bar from their mother. After the apocalyptic rain claims Ana's life, Mia sets forth to give her dead sister the life she missed.

Mia, played magnificently by Carla Kessler, evokes an earthly pathos that is clearly steeped in regret for a life that might have been. Through Mia, Ana (Victoria Bucknell) is given a pet, a boyfriend and a glimpse at what life may have been like should the deck not have been stacked against her and her sister. Mia takes her dead sister on a journey to survivor camps where the seedy have taken their entrepreneurial endeavors to new levels of the grotesque.

Yet, out of this hell comes a beautiful love story between two sisters and the lesson of how not to take what we have for granted. It is through this dark new world, mostly seen through Mia's imagination, that her soul is cleansed and redeemed. Mr. Moss' script takes you immediately into the hell of these characters and never lets you go for the entire forty minutes of the work. Mr. Stanton has a firm grip of the material and has used his first rate cast and Viaduct stage masterfully. Make no mistake; this is a very difficult piece of theatre, both for director and actors because many of the scenes contain performance art as much as they do dramatic line readings. There are also some lovely choreographed moments with the entire cast. "The Argument" is one of those pieces of theatre that will keep you talking days after you have seen the production. That is always the mark of good theatre.

"The Argument runs through November 5th at the Viaduct Theatre, 3111 N. Western, performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20-$25, and can be purchased by phone (773-296-6024) or online at TicketWeb.com. More information at Interrobang's website. (Running time: 40 minutes with no intermission)