"Boy Gets Girl" sounds like a sweet comedy with a happy ending. It couldn't be further from that. "Boy Gets Girl", by Rebecca Gilman is an edgy drama that centers around a woman, her stalker, and the relationships that happen in one's life. Theresa Bedell (Kelly Lapczynski) has a great career and knows where she's going in life, though her love life leaves a bit to be desired. A friend sets her up with a blind date, the seemingly charming though a bit odd Tony (Christopher Miller.) While the first date seems to go okay, things go downhill from there. Theresa decides that he's not quite the guy for her and breaks things off, but Tony's not buying that. He continues to pursue her, first relentlessly and then menacingly. Her co-workers, Howard Seigel (Rett Becker), Mercer Stevens (Orrick Smith) and Harriet (Alyssa Levine) take the brunt of Theresa's stress when she lashes out at them out of fear and frustration. When finally detective Madeleine Beck (Debbie Britt-Hay) is called in, she gives Theresa a sobering taste of reality by letting her know just how serious the situation is and what she'll need to do to protect herself. The play's heavy emotion is lightened a bit by Les Kennkat (Les Payne) a lascivious porn filmmaker that Theresa is forced to interview. The scenes between the two of them provide a much needed levity break in the play.

Lapczynski plays Theresa as an uptight, brash, confident woman who knows where her life is headed and how to get there. While played with real emotion, Lapczynski chooses such a hard line that it's hard to find what Tony would see in her in the first place, let alone what would make him obsessed with her. Because of the edge with which she's played, Theresa loses some of the depth and nuances she might have had otherwise.

Miller plays Tony as a likeable and slightly goofy guy that's a little lonely and just wants a friend. But conversations soon reveal that he's a bit more Freudianly challenged than we are originally lead to believe. Harping on his doting mother and demanding father, Theresa can at times barely get a word in edgewise. Miller goes through the emotions well, but the change from nice, likable guy to stalker seems a bit abrupt. It would have been nice to see glimmers of what was to come hidden beneath the beginning pleasantries. His last phone call scene was quite disturbing and a wake up call for the single women out who aren't as careful as they could be when meeting someone for the first time.

Becker's Howard is a likeable fatherly boss who is concerned about his long-time employee but too relationship challenged to be of much help to Theresa. Becker has some very nice moments, but it would have been nice to see those moments more consistent. All in all, though, Becker portrayed the right amount of protectiveness and concern to make the role believable.

Smith does a fine job as Mercer, Theresa's co-worker who takes the brunt of her wrath for Tony. He moves convincingly through his scenes with Theresa, Howard, and Harriet, though some of the emotionally charged scenes seemed a bit flat and unbelievable. Smith does do a nicely understated job with the majority of the play and was enjoyable to watch.

Levine adds a touch of humor and hutzpa to the show as the sexy though none-too-bright Harriet who may not know how to do a letter, but at least has the guts to stand up to Theresa when she's lashing out. Levine leaves us smiling, knowing that we've all met such a person, and moves convincingly through her scenes, though I would have liked to see a bit more of her. With one exception, her scenes are brief and undeveloped by the author.

Britt-Hay's Detective Beck is the epitome of cop when she comes in to investigate the situation. She pulls no punches when she tells Theresa that she'd better start taking steps to protect herself or the result could end up deadly. Britt-Hay adds a nice depth as the play progresses moving from "just the facts" to a concerned party with a touch of compassion for Theresa's situation. Instead of falling into the typical "cop mode," Britt-Hay found the nuances in the character and subtly brought them out throughout. The role was nicely played.

Les Kennkat is the scene-stealer in the few long scenes that he's in. Totally believable as the lusty porn filmmaker, Payne could have fallen into the stereotyped image of someone in that field. Instead the role is played with depth and believability throughout. Some of his looks are priceless and his comedic timing is excellent, especially compared to Theresa's repressed demeanor. He was a pleasure to watch.

The rather plain but fully functional set was designed by the director, Jeffrey Gastauer and Joel Colbourn. Costumes were by Lynn Walker, sound design by Lou Alliano, and lighting design by Juli Stewart and Paul Ericson.

Gastauer does a good job bringing out most of the performances in his actors. The blocking could have been a bit more natural at times, but the overall punch of the production worked. Gilman does have a tendency to get preachy with her work, and some of the lines seemed discordant with what was going on with the play, but all in all Boy Gets Girl delivers a thought-provoking, conversation-starting night of theater that is well worth the price of admission. And kudos to PowPAC for putting on such a gritty, realistic piece of theater. With it's tough language and adult themes it's not for everyone. But my party enjoyed it.

By Kathleen Betz