Power play

Tense script, fine acting give ‘Topdog’ serious bite

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 Due to an editing error, the actors who played the characters Lincoln and Booth in “Topdog/Underdog” were not identified. Rico Bruce Wade played Lincoln and Sineh Wurie played Booth.

 The Ixion Theatre logo features a character from Greek mythology who is punished by being attached to a fiery wheel. This is a fitting symbol for Ixion’s first play of the season, “Topdog/Underdog,” in which two brothers spin and burn toward their individual ruins.

Lincoln (Rico Bruce Wade) and Booth (Sineh Wurie) — so named by their father as a joke (get it?) — are temporarily sharing a rundown studio apartment. Booth boosts merchandise for a living; Lincoln has the not-really-ironic job of portraying President Abraham Lincoln at an arcade where patrons can pretend to be John Wilkes Booth and assassinate him.

The play is a character study of desperate living and sibling rivalry, ergo its name. In this environment, given the nature of their upbringing and socioeconomic status, the line between having power and being powerless is so fine as to be almost imperceptible. The one on top might be the one who has a woman. But then it could be the one who has cash. Then the one who reveals the biggest bombshell of family secrets. The game is as complex as the Three-card Monte that serves as the source of knowledge and power.

The AA Creative Corridor building serves as an adequate set, but the infrastructure limits the production capabilities. This is a shame, because the cast and director Paige Dunckel have produced a riveting experience from Suzan- Lori Parks’ tense script. This production deserves to be seen by a great many more people than the venue can accommodate.

Wade and Wurie forge an authentic fraternal relationship. The characters alternately poke at each other’s bruises, then share memories and “medicine” to comfort themselves.

While Lincoln seems to be the better adjusted of the pair simply by virtue of the fact that he has a job, he has become emotionally defeated. Lincoln has lost his wife and a best friend, along with his confidence and status in the neighborhood. He downplays his glory days as a Three-card Monte dealer, but when he has nothing left to lose, he bets big and wins bigger.

Wade is mesmerizing, from the molasses-sweet and deep timbre of his voice to the laser-bright gleam in his eye at his moment of triumph. At his lowest he is hollowed-out and dead-eyed, and at his highest he is the charismatic showman to whom you’d gladly hand your paycheck.

Wurie goes toe-to-toe with Wade. He’s like an energetic puppy, chasing his tail as he makes plans, works angles and boasts about his love life. The puppy grows up, though, in a devastating scene where the men discuss the dissolution of their family; Wurie’s face ages perceptibly with world-weariness.

The puppy’s transformation into a vicious pit bull is complete as Lincoln backs Booth into a corner. “Topdog” is a gripping reminder that those who have the least to lose will protect it the most, and when that sole possession is dignity, one will protect it most fiercely.

“Topdog/Underdog”

Ixion Theatre Ensemble 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3-Sunday, Oct. 4 $15 AA Creative Corridor 1133 S. Washington Ave., Lansing (517) 775-4246, ixiontheatre.com

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