The Constructivists pride themselves on presenting dark cutting edge theater. And they have certainly accomplished that with their season ending presentation, Tracy Letts’, BUG. In her program notes, director Maya Danks describes loneliness as the driving force in this play. But that is only part of the story…how far is one willing to suspend disbelief in real life in order to assuage that loneliness. In BUG, Letts suggest that there is no limit.
Constructivists founder and artistic director Jaimelyn Gray plays our lead protagonist, Agnes. At first Gray’s Agnes seems to be on the verge of getting her shit together, strictly on her own terms. But that bit of bravado seems to be buoyed by a fair amount of drug and alcohol use. She’s a waitress sequestered in a sketchy long stay motel somewhere in Oklahoma. And Gray moves to a subtle loss of composure as her ex-husband, out of prison on an unexpected early parole, still haunts her emotionally and then physically when he arrives on the scene. It is unsettling for us to watch as Agnes acquiesces to the violence and control of her husband once again and as she seeks shelter in the machinations of her new found friend, Peter.
So who is Peter? Well, Agnes’ friend, R.C., shows up at Agnes’ room in the middle of an evening of partying with Peter in tow. R.C. wants to have Agnes join her in her endeavors to continue partying through the evening but it’s not happening. Tess Cinpinski is a direct and forceful presence as R.C.. Also something of a wild and crazy woman who just moves on after being turned down by Agnes. Later on, acting as an advocate for Agnes, she has a showdown with Peter that is a pivotal point sending us in a new direction and the climax of the play. Cinpinski’s strong dramatic presence tends to draw much of the attention to herself in her moments on stage.
Peter is played by Joe Lino. He is brought to Agnes’ room by R.C. but doesn’t leave with her. They are essentially strangers who met at a party. Lino’s Peter seems to live at the periphery of the action initially. Lino very effectively tiptoes around the edges of the other cast members on stage and convincingly exhibits a number of tics and twitches describing his nervous nature. As we learn Peter’s backstory of hospitalization and military service, Lino increases the intensity of the character and brings Agnes under the sway of his issues and under his control.
Goss is Agnes’ ex-husband. Matt Specht brings a forceful destructive male presence to the stage as Goss. Completely self-absorbed he ignores a restraining order and a possible parole violation by visiting Agnes and trying to take up where he left off. And he gets physical with Agnes and helps himself to her purse. Specht depicts a troubled misogynist who doesn’t realize he is troubled. This is just the normal course of events for him.
Late in the play, Goss brings Dr. Sweet to the motel. Dr. Sweet has been asking around town for Peter and claims he would like to help him by returning him to the hospital. Robert W.C. Kennedy brings a calmly somewhat detached doctor to the stage. He might be a little naive about Peter’s condition but he makes a great effort in trying to coax Peter to agree with him. Instead, this is the final breaking point. I will leave it there.
Maya Danks has assembled a great cast and tells a great story, despite it’s deeply troubling aspects. I can’t imagine how she moved these actors to plumb the breadth and depth of contagion and mental illness without affecting their sleep at night. But the content is on Letts’ head, Danks has made it into a great season closing presentation.
And I don’t envy the stage crew. There are literally hundreds of small props to handle, add, remove, or replace as the play progresses. And in the talk back afterword, we were told that it takes an hour to reset the stage before the next presentation can begin. And Martilia Marechal did a marvelous job with sound effects and music throughout.
And this disclosure from The Contructivists about BUG: This production contains adult subject matter. Viewer discretion strongly advised. We believe in the power of dark art catharsis. As such, every Constructivists production contains provoking words, ideas, and actions. We respect everyone’s boundaries, but also respect those who wish to know as little as possible about this production. General warnings are violence, language, and heavy drug and alcohol use. [I am going to add: spousal abuse and suicide as possible triggering activities. Ed]
BUG is being presented at the Studio Theater, Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee WI from now until May 9, 2026.
Ticket info is available here. More info about the play is here.
