WILLITS, Ca. 7/9/24 – ”Post-apocalyptic rock and roll drama” is how this installation of the Willits Community Theatre’s 2024 season is described. Don’t let that deter you —you can leave your skinny jeans, leather jacket and snarl at home, unless you feel like playing dress-up for The Tooth of Crime, which opens Friday.
Written by Sam Shepard, The Tooth of Crime is a story of ego and how aging can challenge one’s relevancy and bring out peoples’ primitive savagery. The show is accompanied by a live rock band, performing songs by musician and former Bob Dylan collaborator T-Bone Burnett.
Shepard is known as one of the best American dramatists and playwrights, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child. His work often focused on outsiders — non-mainstream figures who challenge societal norms and lean on black comedy to do so.
The Tooth of Crime pits aging rocker Hoss (Jeff Shipp) against Crow (Garrett Moore), a young and upcoming rapper. Mad Max-esque vibes are unveiled in the storyline, which takes place in a desert landscape where individuals often must survive by use of creativity and violence. Becky Lou (Rebecca King), Hoss’s girlfriend and manager, is a centerpoint, finding her loyalty challenged by the self-destructive nature of Hoss and the youthful vigor of Crow.
“In [Shepard’s] script the playwright comes to terms with the glorification of rock stars, the illusion of the rock ‘n’ roll life, and the contradictions that are involved when one bases one’s life on image alone and a kind of primitive savagery,” says director Mike A’Dair.
Suffice to say, the performance features plenty of drama, violence, nudity, adult language, and sexual violence — all leading up to a dramatic, intense ending that will have one reflecting on his or her own relevancy in today’s world.
The Tooth of Crime runs July 12 through July 21 with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $20 and are available at wctperformingartscenter.org or at the door. No one under the age of 18 will be admitted due to the adult nature of the musical.