Theater Review : A Chilling Reminder of the Reality in This ‘Country’

SAN DIEGO —  The white supremacists depicted in “God’s Country,” Stephen Dietz’s chilling 1988 docudrama, took a decided back seat to the real white supremacist sitting in the audience when the play opened here last week.

*

Tom Metzger, the Fallbrook-based leader of the White Aryan Resistance (WAR)--and who is also mentioned in the script--accepted director Tavis Ross’ invitation to see the play’s local premiere at the sold-out Fritz Theatre. (As if anyone needed a reminder of the very real threat of fanaticism in the wake of the April 19 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.)

Dietz’s play focuses on the 1984 Denver murder of radio talk-show host Alan Berg by the Order, an anti-Semitic, pro-Aryan group. The story is laced with the actual court testimony of Denver Parmenter, an Order member who turned witness for the prosecution. That testimony is intercut with vignettes about the various rituals and beliefs Parmenter describes in eerie detail.

It’s a dense and slippery play. Most of the time, director Ross does a masterful job of letting these people speak for themselves about what they believe in and why. But sometimes, the focus falters.

Particularly enigmatic is the portrayal of the Order’s leader, Robert J. Mathews (Jesse Rayne Cole). His role is never crystallized. Another confusing twist is a graphic nude scene between a supremacist couple (Ian Ross and Sheri Bagley) that seems peculiarly out of place in a three-ring circus of simultaneously described racist activity.

As Parmenter, Dan Gruber is one of the play’s strengths. He lets you see the man sweat on the stand and wrestle with his confusion about the Order.

K.B. Merrill gets the chill factor just right, whether she’s playing the prosecutor in the Berg case or a supremacist schooling a young boy (Cosimo Sorrentino) in the organization’s grim secrets. The 12-year-old Sorrentino stays with you, hauntingly, as an image of the movement’s carefully taught future.

As Berg, Charlie Riendeau needs to inject more force into his performance to capture the victim’s edge.

In the tiny Fritz, Daniel Morris’ minimalist L-shaped set works well. Berg’s radio station is off to the left, while a black platform backed by various white supremacist flags serves to separate various vignettes, which often run simultaneously.

*

As for Metzger, the play was both served and overshadowed by his being in the audience. His presence (as well as his unabashed knowledge of the two convicted Order members) and a droll, almost blase voice during a post-play discussion between cast and audience fueled the play’s message--that a sense of danger is lurking among us.

But seeing him there also left one with the feeling that a make-believe play is no match at all for the real thing, staring intently at the stage.

* “God’s Country,” Fritz Theatre, 420 3rd Ave., San Diego. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 9. $10. (619) 233-7505. Running time: 2 hours, 12 minutes.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Charlie Riendeau: Alan Berg, judge

Dan Gruber: Denver Parmenter, candidate

Margaret Miller: Judith Berg, Leatherman

Jesse Rayne Cole: Robert J. Mathews

Cosimo Sorrentino: The Boy

Will Dunn: Savage, Lane

K. B. Merrill: Muller, woman in graveyard

Sheri Bagley: Zillah, Student

Rick Stevens: Ward, Preacher

Bill Barstad: Chapell, farmer

Ian Ross: Halprin, Withrow

James Kresser: Skinhead, candidate

Fritz Theatre. By Stephen Dietz. Directed by Tavis Ross. Sets: Daniel Morris. Lights: Ginger Harris. Costumes: Judy Watson. Sound: Chip Salerno. Stage manager: Wendy Gastelum.