REDEMPTION

by DME Productions

Review by Emily Fedor

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The idea of finding “companionship” after being attracted to the person whose life you were paid to take is more than a little twisted, but that is the rollercoaster of a storyline presented to audiences in DME Productions’ Redemption (a romantic comedy?)—an original play written and directed by Dave Ebersole. Hailing from Philadelphia, both the play and its cast are making their Ithaca debuts at the Mystic Water Kava Bar as part of the 2015 Fringe Fest, which runs through April 19. Redemption is a rom-com infused, high stakes drama that is designed to test both the minds and emotions of its audiences and characters.

 

With his hands tied around his back, Joey (Sean McDermott) proclaims his innocence through the pillow case over his head, hoping to save his own skin. He claims that he didn’t scam mobster boss Tito (Michael C. Raimondo), but, “That’s not what Tito said.” And that’s where Marco (Richard Bradford) comes in. He’s been hired to kill Joey as punishment for trying to run off with his boss’s money. While Marco hasn’t had a “job” in a while, being a resident hit man isn’t new to him. He’s killed more than a few people for Tito, but for some reason he can’t kill Joey—the jokester who tends to care more about pancakes than the fact that his life is on the line.

 

Bradford channels both sides of broken hit man Marco flawlessly, projecting the inner battle to be strong in the face of the one thing that gave his life meaning—his lost love. He portrays Marco with emotional intensity that allows him to clearly show both sides of the character’s complicated life. One minute he’s hollering at Joey with a convincing power, trying to fight his attraction, but as soon as he goes to touch Joey, his state of mind is tested.

 

Joey on the other hand is harder puzzle to solve. McDermott gives the character depth during his monologues—especially the one about Aqua Man—where he shines with emotion. But when he plays off Bradford, both his actual reaction and reaction time are not always spot on. When shown the various weapons which he can be tortured with, McDermott responds with a much less frantic tone than that which is appropriate for the scene. His casual, comedic side works after Joey gains a sort of power over Marco, but ultimately, that joker card was played a little too early.

 

Finally there’s Tito, the man who thinks he is pulling all the strings. Raimondo brings a Soprano flavor to this power player that works well considering Tito’s mob-style behaviors. When he finally shows his face towards the end of the play, Raimando makes it clear that Tito isn’t a “puddle of feelings” like the other two characters.

 

Redemption is surprisingly full of romance and has some shock value, too, but what the play impeccably highlights is the concept of humanity. While the rom-com bits and the drama don’t mesh perfectly, audiences are forced not to always trust the books they are presented with by their covers alone, because as this play exemplifies, the pages hold the real story.