Burn
by Creighton James

One of the most interesting shows at FringeNYC 2005 was Feud by Creighton James, about the infamous Appalachian grudge-match between the Hatfields and the McCoys (for my review, please click here). The McCoys were portrayed as an almost angelic family and the Hatfields as virtually demonic; and their clash resulted in uniform devastation.

 In Burn, Creighton James paints a portrait of an 1860s Southern family that's more layered, with aspects both heavenly and hellish. The play starts out slowly—frankly, way too slowly—in an attempt to show us the domestic nuances of the family members and make us care about each of them. Then it introduces two black men; and it demonstrates, in measured steps, how the institution of slavery desensitizes the family, allowing it to accept increasingly terrible acts of exploitation and violence by the strong over the helpless.

 For example, when one of the women in the family resists slaughtering a chicken, she's told, "We got to kill chickens. It's why the animals are here, for us to live on. It's the natural order." The repercussions of that statement become sad and dark.

 The show features beautifully moody direction by Adam Arian, terrific period costumes designed by Ryan Rossetto, evocative sound work by Sanaz Ghajarrahimi and lighting by Greg Mitchell, and uniformly fine acting by the cast: Tory Andrus, Leon Addison Brown, Will Brunson, Pierce Cravens, Jeannine Frumess,

C. J. Gelfand, Don Guillory, Amy Hattemer, Derek Wilson, Liz Wisan, and Jason Yachanin.

 The biggest problem is that at an hour and 40 minutes, the play is around 30 minutes too long. Either the snail-like pace of the first act should be revved up or the drama of those initial scenes deepened.

 That said, by its end the play delivers a powerful emotional message. If you can tolerate its flaws, you may find yourself ultimately haunted by this ghost story.