Pure Theater delivers 'must-see' production

"Faith, Hope and Charity," these three — and the greatest of these is Pure Theatre's production of the same name that opened at the Circular Congregational Church on Thursday night.

Literally lining the walls, the sold-out audience experienced yet another configuration of Lance Hall's intimate second-floor space that with Pure's ingenuity, becomes a morgue, a welfare office, an apartment, a police station.

Wonderfully authentic costumes, down to the footwear, add to the suspension of disbelief.

Hungarian by birth, playwright Odon von Horvath's tragic comedy is German to its core, and in fact was written in 1933 as a vicious attack on fascism.

Adapted from the original German and effectively directed by May Adrales, it is set during the Great Depression in an economically depressed Southern town, and may be seen as mirroring our current woes.

The cast of seven actors, professionals all, play people who are self-centered; and while not entirely uncaring, not one exhibits very much love or charity, never mind hope, except our heroine played — as always, unforgettably — by Sharon Graci.

While desperation, grinding poverty and complacency are realistically portrayed, the touches of humor and pure stagecraft make this another must-see.