(Music)

Picture a rundown room in a stucco motel, somewhere in the Mojave Desert. It’s dirty and cramped, not much to look at. But it’s the setting for a big conflict, a reunion between lovers that’s more like a duel.  

“I’m not letting go of you this time, May.”

“You never had a hold of me to begin with.”  

He’s a moody cowboy, in blue jeans and boots. She’s the deeply suspicious girlfriend, very pretty, with long, raven dark hair. He gets on her nerves by using a rope to lasso a bedpost, then a chair. She insists it’s over. He disagrees.  

“It’s no fantasy.”

“It’s ALL a fantasy.”

“I never dropped you neither.”

“No, you just disappeared.”

“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“Well!”  

These two have been at it for 15 years, and they push each other’s buttons in ways that bitter lovers can. Of course, either one of them could leave. They threaten to. But remember, this play about unwholesome attraction is called “Fool for Love.” Three other characters appear in this dark, 90-minute farce, each heightening the weirdness of the central relationship, which takes on epic proportions. Capital Stage’s production has lots of sharp acting. It eventually gets pretty wild, but it’s hard to take your eyes off this story – it’s often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, always vivid.

Capital Stage presents "Fool For Love" on the Delta King Riverboat through April 27th.