Over the next six weeks, five companies from the League of Cincinnati Theatres will present works by celebrated American playwright Lanford Wilson. First up is the Know Theatre Tribe with Mr. Wilson's 1993 Redwood Curtain in production at Gabriel's Corner.

        Redwood Curtain is Mr. Wilson's haunting and lyrical story of Geri, a young Vietnamese-American classical pianist who was adopted as an infant and is searching for her biological father.

        Her journey takes her into a California redwood forest near her aunt's home where she finds the explosive Lyman, an emotionally disturbed Vietnam veteran. Lyman lives with his hunting dog in the woods but is trapped in the forests inside his head. He and Geri play a series of manipulative mind games as she tries to find out if he's the man who fathered her in Vietnam.

        SCPA student Jennifer Sese is a real find in the difficult role of the driven Geri, who proudly proclaims “I am a terrible liar” and often shows it. Ms. Sese is spunky, smart and wise beyond her years as she finds herself by discovering her past.

        Equally impressive is John E. Goodnow, a “veteran Southern actor” (according to the program) making his Cincinnati stage debut. Mr. Goodnow inhabits Lyman's angry emptiness and pain as he portrays an isolated homeless vet who is disconnected from the world and himself, but has not yet completely given up on either.

        Sara Maxey is miscast as Geneva, Geri's self-righteous aunt. Ms. Maxey is too young for the part and doesn't project the snooty attitude that the role requires to provide a stronger counterbalance to Geri and Lyman.

        Director Mishia B. Edwards does a credible job in telling the story and allowing the language of Mr. Wilson's poetic realism to take hold on the stage. At times, however, more subtext could be expressed between the actors, particularly in the first act when the energy sags.

        The terrific set by Terry Brueneman evokes the branches of redwood trees that extend out from the stage into the audience.

        Overall, Redwood Curtain is a good start for the Lanford Wilson festival by the growing Know Theatre Tribe. It is also a play that is a workable match for Know's multicultural artistic mission.

       Redwood Curtain, Friday-Saturday through May 12, Gabriel's Corner, 1425 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine, $10. 871-1429. Next up in the Wilson fest are Talley's Folly at Playhouse in the Park and A Sense of Place at Ensemble Theatre, both opening this week.
       

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