CHILD’S PLAY, Lucid Theatre Productions, at Preston Bradley Center for the Arts. The 1972 film based on Robert Marasco’s drama conveyed some chills, but this Child’s Play is much less convincing: Clyde Simon’s static 90-minute revival never achieves the momentum terror feeds on.
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A Catholic boys’ school is haunted by more than the usual guilt: like refugees from Lord of the Flies, the students continually attack one another. One student loses an eye. Another is draped Christlike over a cross in the chapel. A third uses voodoo to force a teacher to carve stigmata into his hand. Blame falls on Jerome, a disciplinarian teacher who finds himself harassed, framed by ugly letters filled with pedophiliac photos. Jerome in turn blames Joseph, a 30-year veteran and father figure to the boys. The truth–which doesn’t explain much but ends the cycle of violence–comes out only after the school is closed down completely.
