Second Thought Theater's “Hang” skips details of a crime in favor of raw emotion

What if the victim of a violent crime had to decide the fate of the perpetrator? That's the premise of British playwright Debbie Tucker Green's cryptic novel hangingnow in a sensitive production at Second Thought Theater directed by Sasha Maya Ada.

The audience never learns the details of the criminal's heinous act or why his sentence is determined this way. Instead, the play revolves around the developing relationship between three people who are essentially trapped in a room that looks like a regular office break room. Although the characters never say their names, they are referred to as One, Two and Three in the script.

Withholding so much information would be a device that would be even more annoying if Tucker Green didn't have an ear for how people talk under stress, an eye for how they behave. At least hanging is a mannered, stylized exercise in dynamic action and the way people deal with impossible situations in today's society.

Cresent R. Hayes' subtle, shifting sound design of ambient noise helps create an oppressive atmosphere.

The victim, Three (Denise Lee), is always cast with a black actress. One (Shannon J. McGrann) who oversees the trial is usually played by a woman, but can be of any race. Her subordinate Two (Kristen Lazarchick) can be of any race or gender. At Second Thought, both are white women.

But when Tucker Green, who is Black, wants to make a statement about race, she does so in an extremely nuanced way. One and Two try to dance around Three's raw feelings as they truly understand their situation. McGrann and Lazarchick portray their characters as always caring, sometimes even over-the-top. It leads to some of the play's rare humorous moments.

At the same time, these officials are shackled by rules about what they can say or do as Three ponders her monumental decision. What is clear is that the criminal justice system has been outsourced to, or at least has become, a faceless bureaucracy.

At first, Lee barely speaks above a whisper. She creates a foundation for Three's anger and grief to build upon. As she recounts some of the impact on Three's family, due in part to the way the criminal looked at her, Lee's voice grows louder and her hands increasingly shake. She does one, two and you feel for her.

The introduction of a letter from the perpetrator comes late hanging. Will Three read it before or even after she announces her decision? At the performance last Monday, the tension in the room seemed about to explode. But don't expect relief.

Details

Through Nov. 2 at Bryant Hall, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. $27. secondthoughttheatre.com.