Seductive mind games poison the waters in APT's caustic 'Creditors'

By Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times

November 5, 2017

There’s a quote attributed to Oscar Wilde that goes, “Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.”

That kind of romantic cynicism seeps into the beachy blonde floorboards of American Players Theatre’s new production of “Creditors” in the Touchstone, running through Nov. 19.

In a 2008 translation by David Greig, August Strindberg’s 1888 drama charts how quickly what we do for love can become a weapon. Centered on a toxic trio of two men and a woman, the play mingles sex and power, manipulation, affection and revenge. It’s uncomfortable, especially when it feels most true.

Adolph, played by Marcus Truschinski with wild hair and a wooden crutch, is a young man in need of an idol. Sickly and suggestible, Adolph has recently abandoned a successful painting career after a “push” toward sculpture from a sinister new mentor, a guy with a tailored heather gray suit and calculating smile.

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