‘Distance’ looks at troubled relationships

Las Vegas Little Theatre’s “The Distance from Here” is a frightening portrayal of what might be on teenagers’ minds.

Neil LaBute’s 2002 drama throws us into the world of Darrell (JJ Gatesman), a seemingly strong, nothing-bothers-me mischievous 17-year-old with a congenial girlfriend (Lauren Ploeg), an accommodating best friend (Michael Drake) and the kind of good looks that encourage the opposite sex to make themselves easily available to him.

As the play develops, we see the underbelly of these troubled relationships, fueled by a family life that leaves the boy angry and lost. Throughout much of the living-room scenes, we hear the baby of Darrell’s stepsister (Alexandria Bevilacqua) crying desperately for attention. The wailing feels like a metaphor for the emotionally caged Darrell.

LaBute is a major playwright, always worth checking in on. The value of “Distance” is that he and director Will Klundt capture the spirit of these characters in a way that is likely to make adults sit up and take notice. Being young in this society ain’t no picnic.

But while LaBute’s subject matter is always fascinating, I find his pseudo-Freudism more laughable than tragic. Here, every scene in the second act contains the revelation of one more perversion. By the time the evening is over, you’re likely to hate everybody. No one is ever able to find a way out in a LaBute script.

Klundt, though, keys into the rhythms of this environment. He understands the characters’ talk, their brain waves. He guides just about the entire cast into a series of natural performances so that we easily believe in this world.

Most exciting is Jamie Carvelli as the hard-working but simple, insensitive mother. Carvelli makes her sexy, good-hearted, determined and wounded.

Gatesman is intriguing as Darrell, in part because he doesn’t try to get by on vulnerability. He fights hard, and that makes his eventual meltdown all the more moving.

Even actors with just a few lines (such as Luke Jones and Amber Thaw) come across as authentic, which is an unusual achievement in community theater.

Unfortunately, the set design, while credited to three people, could have used at least one person with half-a-spark of creativity.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.