Stage Review - Bug (Tacoma Little Theatre)

Stage Review - Bug
Presented By: Tacoma Little Theatre - Tacoma, WA
Show Run: April 25 - May 11, 2025
Date Reviewed: Friday, April 25, 2025 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours (including a 15 minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

Conspiracy theories are nothing new in this country. Whether it’s the belief that America had knowledge about the impending invasion of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, thereby forcing us into a war that many thought we just needed a reason, or an excuse, to enter, or the various theories surrounding JFKs assassination and who was behind it, it’s clear that all one has to do is flip through a history book, and it won’t take long to find one. Over the past twenty years, they’ve only gotten more prevalent, especially in our divisive political climate, and it seems as though so many people have bought into some sort of conspiracy theory or another, but have you ever wondered why? More precisely, have you ever wondered how it seems that someone who appears to be intelligent and relatively logical can align themselves with a conspiracy theory that, to you, is something so off the wall that there should be no way anyone with even a small degree of intelligence should believe it? Well, that’s exactly what Tracy Letts’ 1996 play Bug tries to answer. Letts, whose writing typically depicts people facing spiritual or moral questions, has been inspired by Tennessee Williams, as well as novelists William Faulkner and Jim Thompson in his writing, and he wrote Bug about a decade before he reached popularity with August: Osage County, this play clearly showing what he was capable of, even at that early point in his career as a playwright. Dealing with themes of paranoia and, yes, conspiracy theories, the latest production of Bug is currently running on stage at Tacoma Little Theatre through May 11, is directed by Blake R. York, and features a pair of actors that present a descent into a psychotic paranoid delusion so well, they’ve created a thrilling piece of theatre that is both beautifully performed and at the same time frightfully disturbing.

First of all, before getting into the story, or the performances, I want to say that the design of the show, and the feel of it is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Blake, both in the shows he directs, and those, which are pretty much every show at Tacoma Little Theatre, that he provides the scenic design for. There’s a level of detail, a precision that Blake brings to his work that is unique, especially in the Tacoma theatre scene, and even farther reaching as well, a consistency of period, of total design, meaning that there’s flow through each of the elements, from the set to lighting to sound, and even to costumes. Credit for these other pieces, of course, goes to the individual contributors as well, Krista Lofgren as the costume designer, Niclas R. Olson in lighting, and Chandler Garry with sound. Krista’s work, for instance, feels like a direct extension of what Blake has done with the set here, which is a mid-1990s motel room, specifically at one of those motels that didn’t just allow, but I believe encouraged extended stays. What I mean by the costumes and how they feel like an extension of the set, all one would need to do is take a any scene, and at least one color in everyone’s costume will tie into at least one in the set, it’s a complete coordination of design. For anyone that has ever stayed in a motel during the 1990s, there’s a lot here that will look familiar, the wall air conditioner, the paneling on the wall, the touch-tone phone on the side table, and the not all 100% functioning light fixtures, all time period accurate, as is the chain on the door, none of those pesky “hotel privacy latches” here. And the way Blake has everything positioned, the entire room is offset at an angle, it’s perfect for all of the sight lines in the theatre, he makes sure that there’s not a bad seat in the house.

The entirety of the story takes place in this motel room, the story of Agnes White, a lonely cocktail waitress, who spends her time avoiding her recently released from prison and abusive ex-husband Jerry, filling the emptiness through a steady diet of alcohol, pot, and cocaine. It’s clear from the set that Agnes has been in this particular room for a long time and has no plans to leave, as evidenced by the sheer amount of groceries on her shelves. Ultimately, though, she has no place to go, but at the same time she doesn’t want her ex-husband to show up, even though it’s one of those inevitabilities of her life, such as it is. Everything changes, though, when her best, and clearly only, friend RC brings a stranger to Agnes’ room, the pair stopping by on their way to a party. Peter Evans is the stranger, he’s a drifter, a Gulf War veteran, recently returned to civilian life and has nowhere to stay. Peter bonds immediately with Agnes, and when she invites him to stay and he accepts, RC is left on her own for the party, and though his intention is just to find a friend, to find someone to connect with intellectually, Agnes has other plans, and even though Peter sleeps on the floor that first night, it isn’t long before the two take their relationship to a more physical level. That’s when all heck breaks loose. There had been signs before this, when Peter first arrived he was nervous and closed off, but one of the things he did talk about was “machines”, and how just the idea of these “machines” being on means that nobody is safe anymore. This is the first inkling of a conspiracy theory, but it only escalates from there, especially when he sees a bug crawling on him, then another, then one on the bed, and one on the carpet, until he and Agnes are both convinced there’s an infestation of bugs in the room, an infestation which becomes the couple’s primary focus. As the play progresses, and Agnes learns more about his time in the military, she learns from him spotty details about experiments and tests, and desertion, and people that are trying to hunt him down. Each subsequent and unexplainable thing that happens to them adds to his paranoia, and his paranoia adds to Agnes’, and together the pair spiral into an abyss of psychosis fed by conspiracies and paranoid delusions, and in the case of Agnes, loneliness and the desire to have something to call her own. Bug is an intense piece that gets even more so the longer it goes on, it’s dramatic, it’s gut wrenching, and it’s sad. The play also illustrates how easy it is for one to get pulled into someone else’s belief system, especially when one is lacking and there’s a hole that needs to be filled.

The intensity of the story is there in the situation, and it’s there in the dialogue, but boy is it ever there in the acting. Cassie Jo Fastabend is Agnes and her portrayal of this lonely waitress, lonely and scared, is extremely good. There’s a desperation in her performance that informs the way she plays the character throughout the entire play. It’s this desperation that makes Cassie’s Agnes hold on to Peter, even when everyone tells her not to. Meanwhile, Bil Nowicki as Peter steals the show. This role has a story arc that requires Bil to play Peter as quiet and reserved and then have him gradually go off the deep end, it’s not something that happens instantaneously, or even quickly, though there is one event that jump starts his descent. The true marker of this performance, though, is in his delivery, and it’s not just how his character speaks, it’s the entirety of his movement, the rapidity of it, the panic that increases as his paranoia increases. There’s a lot of dialogue, Bil delivers it fast and furious, clear and articulate, and Cassie’s right there as she keeps up with his pace and his level of intensity as it steadily increases. In fact, the two together are quite good, their dialogue requires them to be confident and sure, and quick of course, but under Blake’s direction, their movement is coordinated, their words are spoken naturally, and they both grasp how to play these characters in a way that builds the tension in the play like a musical crescendo.

Beyond Cassie Jo Fastabend and Bil Nowicki, who literally carry this play on their shoulders with the utmost of their ability, the supporting cast around them does a fine job. This starts with Joshua Johnson as Jerry Goss, Agnes’ ex-husband. I have the utmost respect for any actor who can play someone as despicable as Joshua does with Jerry. He’s abusive, self-centered, and quite frankly a hateful character, and how evil his Jerry comes across is a testament to how good he is in this role. Katrina Mattson plays RC, and while she doesn’t have much stage time, she brings some humor at the beginning of the show, and plays a vital role in Agnes’ story, Katrina is also very good. Finally, Evan Collier plays Dr. Sweet, another one with not a lot of stage time, but one who gets in the unique position of having the opportunity to come between Peter and Agnes at the height of their joint paranoia. He’s a calming voice, trying to bring some sense to what appears to be the insanity on stage, and Evan is solid in this role as well. These three actors are crucial in supporting Cassie and Bil, and in filling out the ensemble, they perform excellently.

Playwright Tracy Letts couldn’t have had any idea that his play Bug would be more relevant today than it was when he wrote it in 1996. But with a new conspiracy theory cropping up with every rising of the sun, this play, which delves into the kinds of paranoia and beliefs in conspiracies that are so prevalent today, it provides a fresh insight into how these theories grow legs and become part of the zeitgeist. Behind two exceptional performances from a pair of actors that portray a descent into a psychotic undoing the likes of which I’ve rarely seen on stage this side of Macbeth, this production, which is one of the most intense that has run on stage this season, is excellent from top to bottom. It’s anything but a lighthearted romp, and with its mature themes and content, Bug not for everyone, but for those who do see it will recognize straight away how special this play truly is.

Bug runs on stage at Tacoma Little Theatre through May 11. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/.

Photo credit: Dennis K. Photography