CONFUSION best describes what's going on in the Quincy Cage production of Sam Shepard's The Tooth of Crime.

Markers, scorpions, the code, sideways killers and gypsies are all names Shepard tosses around in his version of the dog-eat-dog world of rock and roll. But what these terms mean never really becomes clear; The Tooth of Crime could be about some sort of competition between rival gangsters or even drag racers. Uncertain references to knives, guns, engines and a deejay cloud the action.

The Tooth of Crime

By Sam Shepard

Directed by Adam Fratto

At the Quincy House Cage

Tonight at 8 p.m.

Tomorrow night at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

None of this is the actors' fault, nor is it the fault of the production staff. Under director Adam Fratto and producer Mike Gaw, both groups do an admirable job of putting together an imaginative interpretation of this incoherent play.

The set immediately conveys a tense mood. A single electric chair sits in the middle of a bare room. And the Quincy Cage appropriately seems just like its name--a cage trapping the audience and actors in a downward spiral of depression and anxiety, with an ingenious mix of sights and sounds.

Josh Preven plays Hoss, the paranoid lead. Hoss is a man near the top--afraid of those climbing up from behind and determined to unseat those above him. Preven is convincing and forceful as he handles lines that could all too easily have become overacted in the hands of someone less skilled.

Becky, Hoss' girlfriend, is played by Susan Levine. Relatively unexciting during the first act, Levine makes Becky shine in the second act, even though she has considerably less stage time. The tense scene in which she struggles alone against an imaginary, lust-ridden boy reveals Levine to be an actress of unflinching talent.

Jon Blackstone undertakes the role of Crow, Hoss' rival, in the second act, during which he dominates the dialogue and stage. Disconcerting and annoyingly weasel-like at first, Crow grows on the audience throughout the second act. By the end, Blackstone completely eclipses Preven, who meets his demise, both literally and in his ability to maintain the audience's attention. It is especially difficult to take one's eyes off Blackstone's Crow during his duel scene with Hoss in the second act, an emotional moment that showcases superb acting and choreography as the two main characters engage in a battle of wits.

THREE of Hoss' buddies give terrific back-up performances. David " 'Vid" Buttaro and Randal Jean Baptiste provide moments of refreshing comic relief as astrologer and general space cadet Starman and hip deejay Galactic Jack. In addition, Glenn Kiser's clever portrayal of Hoss' doctor, a cowboy-boot-wearing drug supplier, leaves the audience wishing Shepard had given this character more lines.

The actors cast in these smaller roles team up in the second act for an amusing group vocal performance of "Slips Away," which they sing as the beaten Hoss lies catatonic on the floor. Clad in 50's-style tuxedo jackets, Buttaro, Baptiste, Kiser and John Byrd (Hoss' friend, Cheyenne) perform this absolute best of all The Tooth of Crime's songs.

The music, composed and directed by Jennifer Gierling and performed by "Negative Feedback" (Peter Lindberg, John Byrd, Michael Shindlinger, Martin Harris and Gierling), is an integral part of the performance. Unfortunately, most of the songs, performed by various actors throughout the play, take themselves too seriously and are too intense and angry to be really enjoyed.

Terrific acting, however, definitely makes The Tooth of Crime worthwhile. But if you read the play before you see it performed, you'll get more out of it. Otherwise, you might find yourself sitting in the Cage and wondering what's going on--but somehow still enjoying what you're looking at.