"not easily left behind as one exits the theater"

Cape Cod Chronicle review

Complex Political Intrigue Ends WHAT's Summer Season

by Ellen Petry Whalen

An astute, nineteenth-century British politician is credited with making this universal observation: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

This, in a nutshell, is the basic tenet of Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater's world premiere of Danny Casolaro Died for You. Revolving around the 1991 mysterious death of real-life freelance journalist Danny Casolaro, the gripping and intense storyline explores the circumstances that led to his untimely demise.

Playwright Dominic Orlando wrote the political thriller as a tribute to his older cousin Danny Casolaro. Even though his cousin's death was reported as a suicide (his body was found in the bathtub of a cheap hotel in West Virginia with multiple slash wounds to his wrists and most of his important papers missing), the Casolaro family believes foul play was involved. Based on the high level and broad reach of corruption the journalist was trying to expose, this does not seem out of the realm of possibility.

The play follows this complicated trail of corruption revolving around the Reagan/Bush administration that Danny (Lewis D. Wheeler) refers to as “the Octopus.” It includes Iran-Contra, the Iran-hostage crisis, the theft of a software system by the Justice Department that connects all law databases and the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. In an effort to help the audience easily digest Danny's year-long investigation, Orlando uses his cousin Thomas Vacarro (David Fraioli) as the sounding board for Danny's findings and updates. As Danny is further drawn into the web of intrigue, so is the audience.

Wheeler is a natural as the idealistic Danny. He captures the drive, courage, outrage and single-mindedness of a journalist who is not afraid to follow his leads, no matter where and to whom they lead. As Thomas, Fraioli brings some levity to the powerful drama through his strong physical energy and passion about Italian cooking. He is like a tightly wound rubber band about to spring.

The highly talented all-male cast of five includes three other actors who play multiple roles. Justin Campbell plays two polar-opposite characters so well I had to do a double-take to make sure he was the same actor. One is the picture of perfect diction, slickness and elegance and the other a hyperactive, unkempt geek. David Nelson and John Kool are the fabulous ensemble cast playing anything from a software developer to a waiter. The two are wonderfully amusing as the finely timed FBI duo investigating Danny's death. Playing other characters, Kool's variety of accents and posturing are especially enjoyable.

Director Jeff Zinn keeps the intricate, two-hour-and- 30-minute drama moving at a suspenseful pace, which is a challenge since there is so much information to reveal without overwhelming the audience. The playwright is aware of this challenge as he has Thomas ask Danny to simplify the investigation into one sentence. With that in mind, there are a few areas where some of the dialogue could be shortened to maximize the momentum without jeopardizing the thriller.

Ji-Youn Chang's set is as deceptively simple as it is expansive. A backdrop of large post-it notes, covered with investigative facts, reaches up a 20-foot-high column, behind the fully functioning kitchen, and stretches out to the full width of the stage when it reaches the top, acting as a multimedia screen, displaying photographs and real newspaper clippings. John R. Malinowski's lighting design and Nathan Leigh's sound design work precisely to expose multiple and simultaneous pockets of drama on two-tiers of the stage that are otherwise hidden by darkness.

Danny Casolaro Died for You is a disturbing conspiracy story filled with stimulating dialogue and political intrigue. The intensity of this real-life drama fully entrances the audience, and would be a wonderful end to a perfect evening except for one fact. The story's weighty message, about power, greed and corruption and how one man might have died, while uncovering these truths, is not easily left behind as one exits the theater.