'Belly' links anxieties to issues we all share

An Impending Rupture of the Belly

The Arizona Republic
Kerry Lengel
Publication Date: February 22, 2009

Stray Cat Theatre's latest piece of confrontational cultural criticism tells the story of Clay Stilts, a father-to-be who's determined to protect his family from every conceivable danger, from bioterrorism to complete economic collapse.

More often than not, such political invective is the death of good art. But in this case, paradoxically, there seems to be a slyness at work in the directness of the message.

It's a provocative piece, and this production serves it well. Michael Peck makes a convincingly paranoid Everyman, while Tom Leveen is a scene-stealer as his half-crazed, crack-smoking brother. David Castellano's suburban-goth scenery sets the mood perfectly, as does John Caswell Jr.'s loudly neurotic sound design.

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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ae/articles/2009/02/22/20090222...