In Sarah Ruhl's view, realism is not realistic. "If you distill people's subjectivity and how they view the world emotionally, you don't get realism," the playwright said in an interview several years ago. Ruhl has been a popular presence on both local and national stages with such plays as The Clean House, Dead Man's Cellphone, and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), in which her take on the flitting nature of human emotions turns up with varying intensity.
Late: A Cowboy Song is one of Ruhl's earlier plays, and it provides a chance to see the artist in a formative mode that gives free rein to her notions of slippery realism. Custom Made Theatre is presenting the area debut of the 2003 play, and its characters can run hot and cold and back again in a heartbeat. At least, two of its three characters can.
Crick and Mary have been sweethearts since grade school, and their relationship often drips with syrupy sentiment. They coo and snuggle and giggle, and suddenly arising grievances can be subdued by more cooing and snuggling and giggling. The third character, one of Mary's childhood friends who has reappeared on the scene in the Pittsburgh suburbs, knows who she is, knows what she wants, and is a symbol of a life that doesn't require a rulebook.
Red rides horses and wears full cowboy regalia, and if she hasn't actually seen where the deer and the antelope play, she increasingly pulls Mary into her free-range philosophies, to Crick's increasing consternation. When Crick and Mary have an intersex baby, the doctors decide on a female identity and perform the surgeries to facilitate that. Crick, who works as a museum guard and wants a family like in a Swedish painting, insists on calling the baby Jill ("a good, old-fashioned name out of the Bible") while Mary prefers the more gender-neutral Blue for a name.
"Why does she have to be one thing or another?" asks Mary about their child, to which Crick replies, "You can't live on the fence." In fact, Mary and Red spend a lot of time sitting on fences ruminating about the world, and there is little doubt that Red is sexually attracted to Mary. Tensions increase at home, and Mary's disillusionment is manifested in a manic scene of obligatory holiday celebrations that seem to arrive in an increasing rush.
The above synopsis may suggest a meaty play, but Late: A Cowboy Song is something more of a sketched-in fable. Director Ariel Craft balances the play's shifting idiosyncrasies with a steady hand, and the cast finds its ways into the characters' often absurdist skins. As the somewhat doltish Crick, Brian Martin has a boyish charm that can turn sour whenever his wife wants to color outside the lines. Maria Leigh sharply balances her portrayal of Mary between the growing weariness of home life and the sparks she feels under Red's tutelage. As Red, Lauren Preston has an inviting self-assurance in the role of a self-styled renegade.
As an early work, Late finds a playwright in search of her footing. Ruhl spirits us off in many directions in a mere 90 minutes, and the destination remains vague at the end. But it's intriguing to take the journey because we know it will lead into a potently realized career.
Late: A Cowboy Song will run at the Gough Street Playhouse through Feb. 1. Tickets are $20-$40. Call 798-2682 or go to custommade.org.