Blackbird

David Harrower has found a way to add color to the formerly black-and-white subject of pedophilia. Whether that's a good thing or not, his gripping play Blackbird is an effective and balanced study of a twisted relationship back to bite our "hero" in the butt. Jeff Daniels is a likeable man, trying to hold on to his job and his life, and Alison Pill is an outstanding performer who channels the traumatized girl at the same time as the seductive adult, all while taking her pound of flesh from her one-time abuser. I only wish director Joe Mantello hadn't taken away from the powerful office setting and the naturally staccato script by fiddling with the light switch. Thought: maybe love--which affects the mind, body, and heart--is a trauma, too.

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