Under a Mantle of Stars

by Manuel Puig

directed by Jose Zayas

at the Loeb Experimental Theater

through August 5

It has often been said that lightning never strikes twice.

But Manuel Puig, author of the play Under a Mantle of Stars, chose not to live this credo.

Lightning strikes many times in this ambiguous production, which combines a love triangle, murder and ghosts of the past to weave an intricate, complex plot that keeps the audience guessing.

All of the action of the play takes place in Argentina in 1948, but the first important event of the play occurs back in 1929. A married couple is travelling to visit their best friends when they die in a car crash.

Their daughter, known simply as daughter (Tanya Krohn),is adopted by her parents' friends, the Master and Mistress of the House (Alex Haseltine and Jill Weitzner), and life goes on-until the fateful events of 1948.

That year, two jewel thieves, Visitor and Lady Visitor, (Ben Toro-Hernandez and Dana Gotlieb) come calling on our couple disguised in the garb of 1929 and exactly resembling the deceased couple. Suddenly, out scream the ghosts of the past.

It turns out that the Mistress of the House was having an affair with the deceased man, and Visitor also resembles the fiance of the surviving daughter, who has just called off their marriage. Upon the arrival of this look-alike, the Daughter and the MIstress of the House find their passions rekindled.

The women effectively convey their desires for Visitor. The Mistress of the House is shaken from the doldrums of an uninspiring marriage and comes on strong to Visitor, whom she believes has come back for her and will take her off to an exciting romantic future.

Krohn,, as Daughter, is the younger of the two women, and her portrayal of this character makes this distinction clear. Unlike the brash, uninhibited character of Weitzner, Krohn is bashful, shy, and confused as the Visitor appears to come back into her life.

Toro-Hernandez has what appears to be the most enviable role in the play--he's got two women completely smitten with him. He plays it extremely well, tailoring his demeanor to the different styles of attraction presented by the two women.