Kim Tobin-Lehl and Christian Tannous in 4th Wall Theatre Company’s production of Adam Rapp’sIt’s not every day that a play goes out of its way to name check various great works of literature, from Fyodor Dostoyevsky and J.D. Salinger to James Salter and David Foster Wallace. But that’s exactly what you get, for good reason, in Adam Rapp’sThe approximately 90-minute-long two-hander begins with Bella Lee Baird, our self-described “unremarkable narrator.
But like Bella tells Christopher late in the script, when she comments that his use of mixed metaphors is perfect because his narrator is a freshman in college who would mix his metaphors, it’s perfectly stylized to these two characters who share a deep love of literature and are, at heart, writers. It’s also incredibly evocative, clever, and downright funny at times .
Opposite Tobin-Lehl is Christian Tannous as the very weird and very opinionated Christopher Dunn. He’s got the certitude of youth going in his performance, an unnerving intensity, and a barely restrained energy that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. It’s hard to guess where Rapp’s play is going as you’re watching, and a big reason for that is the wildcard that is Christopher Dunn, an aspect of the character that Tannous seems to relish playing.