Opening Nights: Bare

When I think of Catholic boarding school, I think of two things—parents who don't really want to be parents and bored, forgotten children who have more money than they know what to do with.

Matthew Durham

Fast times at St. Cecilia’s: Engelhard and McKenna Turner.

Details

ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., 938-0339, www.artswest.org. $10–$15. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends July 26.

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More About

• Andrew Leonard
• Eric Engelhard
• Max Thorne
• Lisa Hill

This stereotype is perfectly portrayed in the pop-opera bare, a tale of confused, sex-obsessed, drug-addled teens completing their senior year at St. Cecilia's Boarding School. As if this time of extreme transition isn't bewildering enough, roommates Peter and Jason, played by Eric Engelhard and Andrew Leonard, are met with the difficult decision of coming out of the closet together or continuing to hide their long-time relationship.

It's simultaneously exhilarating and disturbing to watch a group of real teens drinking in dorm rooms, taking Ecstasy at a rave, and acting promiscuously with one another. While the show may not mirror reality to a T, bare does an excellent job of showing what can (and sometimes does) happen when there is an extreme lack of communication between teens and their supposed mentors.

It's not often that an entire cast is truly age-appropriate for their roles, but since this production is part of ArtsWest's summer apprentice program, every actor, bar the priest, is between 17 and 20 years old. With standout performances by Lisa Hill (who provides the best snappy lines as sarcastic Nadia during her songs "Plain Jane Fatass" and "Spring"), Max Thorne (who as Lucas does a perfect impression of your average teenage drug pusher), and "gay lovers" Engelhard and Leonard, this show proves that great talent can come in young packages.