Look up "white trash" in the dictionary and you're sure to find a family portrait of the Smiths: the beer-drinkin', pot-smokin' mother-killin' family whose members captivate audience's er--hearts in Barebones' newest production, Killer Joe. It opens with twenty-something Chris trying to convince his step-mother Sharla (Lissa Brennan), and father Ansel (John Gresh) to hire a dirty detective to murder his mother in order to collect the insurance money.

Killer Joe, written by Pulitzer-prize winner Tracey Letts and directed by Kim Martin, remains bare to the bone when it comes to the characters, even though the set and special effects are more elaborate than the norm from Barebones. The "crass and dissolute" family is stripped of almost every moral fiber in their being, reduced to the primitive core of man: bloodthirsty, power hungry and selfish. The Smiths learn that hiring Joe is an expensive business indeed. Since they have no money to pay him up front, they agree upon "giving" Joe Chris' younger, barely out of her teens, sister Dotty (Hayley Nielsen). Apart from the Smiths, the dirty detective they hire for his assassin services is just as bad, if not worse than them. Killer Joe(Patrick Jordan) is introduced to the audience in the most dramatic of fashions: in the midst of a thunderstorm, lights flickering, Joe throws the door open and in he walks: black trench coat, black cowboy hat, black boots; tall, dark and dangerous.

The plot moves intriguingly and at a perfect pace; dark plotlines interlaced with bits and pieces of humor that actor and founder Patrick Jordan is clever enough to capture and bring to light. The scenes are punctuated with elements that enhance and foreshadow the storyline. Pittsburgh music legend Joe Grushecky plays his acoustic guitar during scene changes, performing both covers and originals; all perfectly meshed with Killer Joe's disposition. Thunderstorms and the barks of an unseen but menacing sounding canine punctuate the dark tones and give the audience a sense that something very, very bad is going to happen.

The five cast members have developed a captivating and intricate chemistry amongst themselves, pulling the audience into their problems, choosing them to take sides, guess what's going to happen next, and sitting on the edge of their seats. Each character is just as strong and fully fleshed out as the next, complementing each other flawlessly. Nielsen's portrayal of Dotty manages to be eerie and sadly humorous simultaneously, with an overwhelming air of naiveté.

The set is wonderfully detailed to create a decidedly redneck, shabby-shit ambience complete with tuna casserole served as a delicacy, plastic lawn chair as living room furniture, and beer as the morning beverage of choice -oh, and did I mention the fried chicken?

The Best Thing: Killer Joe is sure to have you laughing at one moment and then dropping your jaw in shock at the next.
The Worst Thing: X-rated and certainly not acceptable for all audiences (read: children, closed-minded individuals who do not enjoy full frontal nudity)

For tickets, times, and more information: Barebones Website