A seedy motel at the edge of the Mojave Desert. A bottle of Tequila. Rope. A curtain ruffles gently at the window, the neon buzzing of a beer sign just outside. A red dress. A Rifle... Secrets.

Welcome to the claustrophobic world of Fool for Love, Sam Shepard's brutal, one-act play about "what it's like to fall victim to love." Now playing at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, Shepard's haunting exploration of the mythic American West and his unflinching glimpse into the torrid, dysfunctional love affair of May and Eddie is not to be missed.

Opening on a rumpled bed in the middle of nowhere, we are introduced to May (Shasta Lusk) holding her knees to her chest and crying. An Old Man (Geoffrey Lewis) sits off to the side in a corner. The door to the motel room flies open, and Eddie (Jamison Jones) barrels in. He has traveled 2,500 miles to come back into May's life, but May is not happy to see him. He tries to console her and declares his faithfulness and commitment to the unconvinced May, who tells him: "You gotta' give this up, Eddie! You've been jerking me off like this for fifteen years. Fifteen years, I've been a yo-yo for you!"

May screams for Eddie to leave, yet pleads for him to stay upon his repeated exits. Through their arguing, the chemistry and history the two have shared becomes apparent and it is obvious that the characters are deeply in love. "We've got a pact, we've made a pact," Eddie tells May. "You know we're connected, May. We will always be connected. That was decided a long time ago."

But something is wrong. Like a blue-collar version of Martha and George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, May and Eddie go round and round in this strange, violent mating dance, tearing into each other like wolves and then salving their wounds with tequila - as if they've done this very same thing many times before (which, of course, they have).

Lusk and Jones bring all of this anger and passion to tangible life with an economy and relentlessness that never lets up. Lusk, who resembles Laura Dern in stature and mannerisms, is a live-wire of emotions, erupting like a volcano at one moment and then falling into Eddie's arms as if she is a little girl in the next. Jones sees her intensity and raises it, bouncing off the walls like a wounded bull, his rifle and constantly twirling rope floating around the cramped room like twin ghosts - swirling relics from an Old West now forgotten.

But, underneath all of this fury and roiling noise, there lurks something deeper, something darker, something quiet and patient (which I won't reveal, here, for spoiler reasons). Represented in the effortless, lived-in performance from iconic movie character actor Geoffrey Lewis (High Plains Drifter, The Devil's Rejects, Any Which Way You Can), this "hushed stain" sits at the core of everything that takes place inside the motel room, bruising anyone who comes into its orbit. Enter Martin (Phil Donlon), a young, innocent suitor of Mays', who arrives in the second half of the play to take May to a movie. Providing a link to the outside world and a reality check to the events taking place inside, Donlon infuses Martin with a sweet awkwardness and stammering compassion that brings a welcome bit of levity to the incestual triangle contained within (it must be noted that there are some very funny moments in this vicious, brooding play - with Jones especially showing great range in several laugh-out-loud drunken cowboy exploits).  In the end, however, levity is devoured by family secrets and unspeakable longing, as May and Eddie open the door to the world outside and walk into the black night, alone...

Bringing all of these warring personalities and tones together with boot-to-the-neck intensity is the talented duo of Bacchus Stuart (director) and Brian Grisham (producer). Clean, stark, visceral - this is black box theatre at its finest. I urge y'all to go see it.

Fri, Jun 06 - Sun, Jun 15 (may run through Jun 21)/ Friday and Saturday 8pm, Sunday at 3pm/ Tickets: $20.00

Stella Adler - Studio Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., 2^nd Floor, Hollywood, CA 90028 (ample street parking)/ Reservations: (323) 960-7773

http://www.myspace.com/foolforlovela

by Matthew Sidney Long