“THE BLONDE, THE BRUNETTE AND THE VENGEFUL REDHEAD” GETS YOUR HEAD SPINNING

“THE BLONDE, THE BRUNETTE AND THE VENGEFUL REDHEAD” GETS YOUR HEAD SPINNING

You just gotta’ see “The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead” to believe it. And even then, sitting in the audience at Invisible Theatre, there are parts you won’t quite believe as Betsy Kruse Craig plays seven distinctly different characters (spanning several ages and both genders) in a jaw-dropping display of thespianic versatility.

Even better, this one-woman show by Australian playwright Robert Hewett is more than just a showcase for thespian stagecraft. There is a noir-ish connection that strings together all the people Craig brings to life.

Hewett provides some satisfying substance in the dialogue on which all these imaginative trimmings are piled. He suggests that each of us is an isolated person no one else truly knows.

Sometimes we live not according to who we are, but according to what others think we are…or need to think we are…or just have no idea who we are.

Beneath all the congenial suburban surface there can be a whole lot of suffering going on. Craig gets this, assisted by co-directors Susan Claassen and Brent Gibbs, in brilliant portrayals of abused survivors in middleclass neighborhoods.

The string that’s pulled to begin unraveling these tangled lives is attached to the not-yet-vengeful redhead Rhonda, who we meet in the first scene sitting nervously at her kitchen table explaining how Graham, her husband of 17 years, just announced he is leaving her instead of picking up the children after school like he always has.

The set design by James Blair and Claassen includes a kind of dressing room and display window for wigs that are blonde, brunette and red haired. Assisted by stage lighting and sound effects, Craig always changes quickly in private, but with those wigs in view.

Most amazing is the actor’s transformations. Each of the seven personalities is so thoroughly thought out, each one coming with a completely unique set of gestures, expressions, body language and voice. This is one production that could claim a team of psychiatrists as technical advisors.

Once we know Rhonda has been dumped, complications quickly begin to snowball. The appearance of every new character begins the unspooling of several more surprise developments.

In the shopping mall, Rhonda attacks the blonde that is her husband’s lover. Only…it’s the wrong blonde. And Rhonda’s attack is so vigorous, this attackee slips on ice cream someone has dropped, cracks her skull on the marble shopping mall floor, and dies.

Rhonda is taken off to jail but the play is just beginning. There are two full acts, and six more characters to reveal their secrets before we meet Rhonda again and this many-faceted plot is resolved.

“The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead” continues in performances at various times through April 29 at Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave. Tickets are $25. For details and reservations, 520-882-9721, or visit www.invisibletheatre.com Rush tickets on sale 30 minutes before curtain, when available.