A Den of Thieves extends into April at SF Playhouse

Den of Thieves lampoons organized crime, grand larceny, drug dealing, torture, and murder, but kleptomania and compulsive overeating drive the plot. This dark comedy by Stephen Adly Guirgis is now playing at The SF Playhouse in a fast-paced, fascinating production with an incredibly eccentric collection of characters, from an addiction counselor to a red-hot stripper. The unexpected encounters and skewed intersections between differing cultures create some absurd situations so tense they can only be resolved by laughter. Director Susi Damilano has expertly timed the laugh lines and the development of the unlikely but scary plot.

Maggie (Kathryn Tkel using tics and nervous energy to portray a depressed victim) is in her kitchenette displaying her stolen food to her rehab counselor Paul Handelman (Casey Jackson consistently inhabits his nerdy, schizophrenic character.) “I don’t belong in this program,” she says of her twelve steps to cure her of compulsive overeating and kleptomania. “I can’t be saved. I’m not worthy.” “Put the Yodels© down, Maggie,” Paul commands.

Her hyped ex-boyfriend Flaco (Chad Deverman as an over-optimistic petty criminal plays the pseudo-bad boy with a charming innocence.) arrives with his newest caper and newest girlfriend Boochie (played with a trashy gusto by Corinne Proctor). Flaco, looking cool in his shades, pork pie hat, wife-beater undershirt, suspenders, chain and tats is after $750K. He searches for a man under the table and finds Paul, who happens to be a safecracker, among his many other peccadilloes. The four of them join forces to crack the safe at the disco.

That's the Act I setup for the obviously ill-fated caper heist. Act II opens with four hooded figures, tied in chairs in a basement while a yegg talks on his cell phone. The disco was run by the mafia, who caught them. Little Tuna (Ashkon Davaran) and his sadistic sidekick Sal (Peter Ruocco) are holding them until Big Tuna gets back. When Al "the Big Tuna" Pescatore comes down stairs he is aghast that the hostages have been there all weekend. "Why are they still alive?" he asks incredulously.
The hostages are left with a dawn deadline for their decision on whom to sacrifice.

The two sets by Bill English are simple but effectively dressed to denote specific places and circumstances. The costumes by Bree Hylkema are completely believable and accurately denote their specific characters. The conflict between the two groups is snide satire; by comparison to the thieves the Mafiosi look normal. The actors seem to take delight in the premise of the play: to an unlikely group of rag-tags in a tense situation stir in a heavy helping of mob threats. They all love their characters.

Den of Thieves continues through April 17 at The San Francisco Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($40) are available online at http://www.sfplayhouse.org/pages/tickets.php or by phone at 415.677.9596.