AN EXTRA-ORDINARY FLY

Anne Kelly-Saxenmeyer
Mirror contributing writer

   There are no new stories. I became newly aware of this while watching Colin Mitchell’s two act fable, “Bitten by a Fly,” in which suffering leads to redemption, the teacher becomes the student, and an angel even earns his wings. This is familiar stuff, and it’s a testament to Mitchell’s talent (as writer, director, actor) that he makes it so engaging.
   The play follows world-class painter, Lola McManus (Salli Saffioti), as she spreads malice, guzzles champagne, and cranks out the occasional thirty-second masterpiece. At the end of Act One, she is bitten by a Fly (Barry Kramer) carrying a rare disease that renders her blind. What ensues is a test of her atrophied insight. 
   The journey in Mitchell’s text marries beautifully with Kis Knekt’s production design (set, costumes, props). The first act takes place on a cartoonish Connecticut hilltop— I’ve never seen such a sarcastic set — the perfect backdrop for McManus’s caustic behavior. After the fly bites, we retreat into the artist’s dim abode (or psyche) where vivid colors are replaced with a brown bathrobe and a general gloom. Coupled with Dawn Ferry’s dramatic lighting, Knekt’s less-than-subtle design becomes a wry commentary on the action. 
   (The script isn’t without such ironic self-reference. In some almost Nabokovian moments, Mitchell jabs at the strained coincidences of his own story: Everyone is a long lost acquaintance; every action comes back to doom or save.)
   As the human being trapped in this allegory, Salli Saffioti delivers an ideal mix of wit and panic. The character of Lola McManus could easily be overdone, one way or another, but Saffioti and her director have achieved a nice balance: Lola can be shrill, callous, self-pitying, and yet she keeps us in her corner.
   Jenny O’Hara plays McManus’s agent, a.k.a. babysitter, with compassion and humor. And as a blue-collar philanthropist from McManus’s past, Dean Gregory is solid, unsmiling, true-to-life. 
   Colin Mitchell is quite believable as a nice Texas boy thrust upon the New York art scene, and he handles his multiple roles in this production with unusual grace. 
   Lastly, Barry Kramer is an imposing and oddly sensual Fly. (How often do I get to say that?)
“Bitten by a Fly” at The Actor’s Lab, 1514 N. Gardner Avenue, West Hollywood; performances Thurs.-Sun., 8p.m.; through May 6th. (323)938-0204.