Kathleen Turner tour-de-force performance in TheaterWorks’ “High”

HARTFORD — It’s been said that writers should write about what they know. For Connecticut native Matthew Lombardo, playwright of the world premiere at TheaterWorks of “High,” that knowledge lies squarely in methanphetamine addiction and the Catholic Church.
For Lombardo, who grew up in Wethersfield, his story is of a successful playwright turning into a hard-core drug addict at 36.
In his play, a young gay meth addict, Cody Randall (Evan Jonigkeit), is brought to a Catholic Church rehab center where Father Michael Delpapp, played by Michael Berresse, demands that social worker and nun, Sister Jamison Connelly, played by the commanding Kathleen Turner, is fix the junkie.
Turner is dominating as the wisecracking, foul-mouthed, tough-as-nails nun who has seen it all, and is more than capable of handling the young gangsta-talking homosexual hustler.
Turner’s Connelly is a recovering alcoholic with a mouth like a longshoreman. She says she told a fellow-nun that between alcohol and cursing, she could only handle giving up one addition in a lifetime.
Between scenes with the addict and the priest, she speaks directly to the audience about her own demons and her dark and sad past, along with sharing parables and mini-sermons, like one of my favorites, the scorpion and the frog.
This very adult play has nudity, prolific profanity, and violence, with discussions of sodomy, prostitution, child rape, death, and of course, plenty of drug abuse.
Jonigkeit is convincing as a bundle of nervous ticks and hyper-kinetic energy. He is wary and understandably distrustful as the youthful meth addict whose story of being the son of a drug addict and a drug user since a child, makes his future a pretty dismal one.
The addict was found in a hotel room with a 14-year-old boy, dead from an overdose, by the priest, who insists the nun counsel him.
The priest, played with depth by Berresse, has his own set of dark secrets, that aren’t of the usual creepy priest variety, but disturbing none-the-less when revealed, and frankly difficult for me to fathom.
Sometimes the dialog is over-long and pedantic, such as when we learn that Connelly doesn’t wear a “penguin suit” the nun’s Habit, and goes into great explanation about how things have changed. Irrelevant, really.
There are also some glaring holes in the plot, such as why the parents of the 14-year-old boy were concerned enough to send the child money to come home, but not concerned enough to actually come and get the child.
Plot issues aside, however, the topic of drug abuse, addition, and the sheer effort of will to live are relevant, poetically written and powerfully expressed.
Part of the problem we have as a society, I believe, which “High” brings to crystalline clarity, is that we forget that often the original intention behind abusing drugs or alcohol is to forget about our troubles and feel good and happy, and to connect with others. These are not bad intentions, but using drugs to achieve them just doesn’t work in the long run.
Connelly says as much when she says, “Booze has a way to make a young life more bearable.” Good intention — bad result.
Meth ups the ante, though, when it comes to trying to quit. Statistically the chances of staying clean are a frighteningly low one in three.
Elsewhere, Connelly tells Cody that the sooner he realizes he is a “garden-variety addict,” the sooner he will be on his way to recovery. Tough love, but true.
The simple set designed by David Gallo works well for this production, with parallel walls rolling forward and retreating when needed. The stars in the backdrop add a magical and dreamy quality.
The production, commandingly and surly directed by Rob Ruggiero, moves at a fast clip in the second act, revealing in the dark and heart-breaking recesses of life and death the fragile miracle of healing and redemption.

HIGH

3 1/2 Stars
Location: TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl St., Hartford.
Production: Written by Matthew Lombardo. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Assistant director Mick Eilerman. Set design by David Gallo. Costume design by Jess Goldstein. Lighting design by John Lasiter. Sound design by Vincent Olivieri. Special makeup design by Joe Rossi.
Running time: 2 hours including one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinee performances Sunday and selected Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. through Aug. 22.
Tickets: $49 for all shows. $15 more for reserved seating. Ages 16 and 17 free. Call 860-527-7838 or visit their website at www.theaterworkshartford.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Kathleen Turner … Sister Jamison Connelly
Michael Berresse … Father Michael Delapp
Evan Jonigkeit … Cody Randall