STAGE REVIEWS : QUESTION OF THE HEROINE’S SANITY PROPELS ‘NUTS’

“Nuts” at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse is not a typical courtroom drama: The feisty heroine’s guilt or innocence is never the crucial issue; rather, the more ephemeral question of her sanity is what propels this often intriguing play.

Playwright Tom Topor has created a courtroom that is more a crucible of emotions than motives, feelings than facts. Claudia Faith Draper (played with conviction by Kathleen Collins) has been charged with manslaughter, but it doesn’t look as if she will ever face a trial. The state says she is deranged and has placed her in a mental hospital. But Claudia desperately wants her criminal case taken before a jury, and she attempts to prove her stability in a competency hearing.

The result is a gritty and compassionate portrait of a disturbed but ultimately sane woman who was sexually abused as a child and turned to prostitution after a failed marriage. Learning whether she killed someone is secondary to finding out more about this interesting character.

Unfortunately, most of her personal revelations don’t surface until the end of the first act, which up to that point is sluggish and hard to follow. Director Marthella Randall appears to have an uneasy control early on, but the production becomes more assured by the second act, when Claudia takes the stand and her riveting confessions and frank expressions of emotion make the play come to life. Collins infuses Claudia with strength, wit and also vulnerability.

The supporting cast, however, is not always so convincing. The portrayals are generally too studied and the deliveries often tense and hurried. The exceptions are John Mirabile as Claudia’s no-nonsense attorney and Glenn Smith as her weak, guilt-ridden father.

“Nuts” runs through April 11 at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse at 661 Hamilton St., Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 659-5269.