Review - What's Done In The Dark - No Refunds Theatre - 4-1/2 stars

“His hands were clean. The rest of him was a mess. But his hands were clean.”

Damn, that was a hell of a lot of fun.

That was my first reaction at the end of watching the all-too-brief offering currently on stage at the Red Eye from No Refunds Theatre Company, “What’s Done In The Dark.” When you bill your production as “A Graphic Novel On Stage,” you set the bar of expectations pretty high. On nearly every front, “What’s Done In The Dark” delivers in fine style.

Personally, I’m not a big reader of graphic novels (or comic books). That’s more my brother’s bailiwick. Me, I drop in and out occasionally, enjoying something off-kilter like “The Flaming Carrot” or hopelessly mainstream like “Spiderman.” I’ve probably seen more movies based on comic books and graphic novels than I’ve actually read the source material. Things like “Sin City” tend to amuse the hell out of me. I like to think I can appreciate a good story, well-told, regardless of the genre or the style of presentation. If I’m tremendously entertained, so much the better. “What’s Done In The Dark” is tremendously entertaining. Bottom-line, it’s just good theater, which is really refreshing.

It’s hard to talk about “What’s Done In The Dark” without giving the twists and turns away, and they are a large part of the fun, but I’ll do my best not to be a spoiler.

There are only three characters - police officer Michael King (Kiseung Rhee); Deborah Seever (Billie Jo Konze), a woman widowed by the brutal murder of her husband; and a man known only as The Witness (Robert C. Hammel). All three actors turn in solid, enjoyable, substantial performances. Only one of these characters is what they seem to be - to say which one, would be telling. And unfortunately, to go into detail about why each of their performances is so effective would also give the game away.

The Witness was given an unusual gift as a young man. A psychic ability was passed on to him (how, again, would be telling - the story has several layers before the truth is revealed). When The Witness is presented with the scene of a murder, and he touches the spot where it happened, he takes on both the life story of the victim and the murderer, including the motive for the crime. As you might expect, this gift is a mixed blessing. Over thirty years’ time, many violent crimes were solved with his help, but the flood of painful experiences took their toll. Suddenly, twelve years ago, The Witness vanished. No explanation, just withdrew from the world. Now Deborah Seever has tracked The Witness down, intent on solving her husband’s murder of five years back, which has stumped the police, and all private detectives she hired to take the case. Michael King, The Witness’ former contact on the police force, has mixed feelings about teaming up again with the man who abandoned him. Why The Witness disappeared is another secret best kept until one sees the show, but it’s a doozy.

There are a number of things about “What’s Done In The Dark” that are impressive. One of them is that they do it all with a metal table, three chairs and three actors. The reason you don’t feel they’re skimping is the stunning use of projections on the back wall, the kind of thing the Red Eye space was built for, and of which No Refunds takes full advantage. For some reason, I can’t find the information crediting the artist in the program, but if I’m remembering correctly from the end credits (it’s animation as well as individual images throughout), the amazing artwork is the contribution of Ian Llanas. Not only does the artwork capture that look of panels in a graphic novel - vivid, clean, two-dimensional verging on three-dimensional - it often springs to life in unexpected ways. Pictures layer one over another, leading the audience through a sequence of images and ideas, propelling the scenes forward and fleshing out the backstory. The special effects which take the audience inside one of The Witness’ crime scene contacts are great fun. Also of note is a truly lovely evocation of the inside of a church that serves as the scene of yet another crime. An apartment, a graveyard, an isolated cabin, a deserted field, a police interrogation room - they all come to vivid life and set the stage for the action.

Steph Drinkard’s work with lights, and director Reid Knutilla’s keen sense of composition, build on top of Llanas’ visuals. There were several moments throughout when the image of actors silhouetted against those backdrops as scenes were gearing up or winding down actually gave me goosebumps. It says a lot about a production when even some of the transitions between scenes are thrilling to watch.

The chief virtue of Matt Dawson’s script is that it strikes that tricky balance between lofty ideas and down-and-dirty murder mystery. The story never devolves into complete fluff, while also never becoming ponderous as it contemplates the larger issues of guilt and innocence, crime and punishment, duty and self-preservation. “What’s Done In The Dark” is sly pulpy fun that you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying. It’s got a brain, and a twisted heart, as well as adrenalin. While the text often relies on mountains of exposition, it nearly always pulls it off because the story is that clever, at times even poetic, and the performances are that good. Director Knuttila also deserves a lot of credit for taking all that talk and finding ways to stage it and make it compelling to watch.

Minor quibbles - for a production with this much polish, sometimes the scene changes seemed a bit clunky. It would have been nice if the whole thing flowed just a bit more smoothly. Still, if it’s an excuse to hear some Johnny Cash in the dark, I’m game.

Also, despite the great work from this trio of actors, and the wonderfully complex central character of The Witness, the play sometimes showed the strain of being confined to just three characters. With a host of victims and murderers out there, and a well-populated backstory for all three onstage characters, a bit more of the visual presentation of those myriad other people, or even an extra actual body on stage moving about and interacting with the others, might have helped the feeling of claustrophobia. Plus, it almost gives the game away if the audience knows there’s a murder to be solved, and only three possible options for people to implicate. Even so, the play is incredibly creative - no one’s guilty in the way you think they’re going to be.

Also, there’s suspension of disbelief, and there’s suspension of disbelief. There’s a central connecting idea between all the murders which left me scratching my head and wondering, “Didn’t this guy, or the multitude of incredibly fertile women he bedded down with, know anything about contraception?”

But it’s all a symptom of a larger issue for “What’s Done In The Dark” which is - I want more.

This is a good problem for a play to have. While I didn’t feel cheated in any way, I did find myself wanting more. The whole production clocks in at just a little over an hour. It’s an enjoyable and well-stuffed hour to be sure, but with this much talent on display, think what they could have done with a bit more room for the story to breathe. Many productions these days have the opposite problem - you feel they’re over, or should be over, long before they actually stop. It’s not often a production leaves me wanting more. “What’s Done In The Dark” definitely has room to grow. I hope No Refunds continues to explore this production conceit. Like their Kung Fu outings of the past, the basic premise is rich with possibility, and they clearly have the talent to deliver on it.

The night I saw the production, there were only a dozen people in the house. That’s a shame. Go see it. “What’s Done In The Dark” deserves big crowds. It’s the most genuine fun I’ve had watching a piece of theater in ages.

Very highly recommended.

“What’s Done In The Dark” continues through Sunday, March 16th. All performances take place at the Red Eye Theater, 15 West 14th Street in Minneapolis. It plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm, with a special pay-what-you-can performance this coming Monday night, March 10th at 8pm and an additional Thursday performance this week March 13th at 8pm. Tickets are $12 ($10 with Student ID, Fringe Button, black belts, certified ninjas, members of the clergy, veterans (active duty, reserved & retired), a lazy eye, possession of demonstrable superpowers, proficiency in Elvish, Dwarvish, or Creole). (I’m not making that up, it’s on their website.) For reservations call 651-245-2527 or email info@norefundstheatre.com. More information is available at www.norefundstheatre.com