Road Movie

Despite the stark lighting and wardrobe and the black stage/single-piece-of-furniture set traditional for one-man theater, this is an uncommon show. The script is primarily a travelogue, the story of New York journalist Joel's road trip to California to reunite with Scott, a former lover. The narrative is punctuated by exchanges that force Joel to confront the fears of intimacy and mortality that have haunted his sexual life. Actor Mark Pinkosh pulls off no fewer than five characters, of both sexes and often in animated conversation with each other, with neither awkwardness nor confusion. Pinkosh and playwright Godfrey Hamilton have collaborated on several previous works, and the actor's comfort with Hamilton's script is evident in the power of its delivery. Brave, moving, funny, and sexy, Road Movieexudes a lively lack of morbidity in the face of difficult subject matter. VIRGINIA ZECH Balagan Theater, 1117 E. Pike St., 718-3245, www.balagantheatre.org. $12-$20. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends June 15.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: June 5. Continues through June 15, 2008