Charles Stites fits so entirely and comfortably into the horrible male characters of David Mamet that one has to wonder if the man is, in fact, acting.Mind you, he is an actor of great presence and élan vital, as anyone could see when he was onstage in City Theatre's Glengarry, Glen Ross by Mamet and in the title role of its Tartuffe by Molière. It's just that for this new theatre grouping Stites chose Mamet's 1974 one-act, he directed it, and he portrays the central character Bernie Litko, an assertive, energetic total asshole who entirely dominates this series of blackout sketches.
The press photo captures pretty precisely the relationships among these four characters. Bernie expostulates; the self-effacing Danny listens to Bernie as if he were Moses coming down from the Sears Tower with a long list of commandments on sexual relations; Deborah the illustrator is sweet and uncertain; and Joan the kindergarten teacher, with no male in her life, is the outsider, Deborah's coach and her neglected roommate.
