PLANC PRODUCTIONS - AMBROSE BIERCE

Rob Foster's original work, "Ambrose Bierce" provides a colorful, and at times humorous, insight into the mind of an eccentric writer on the night he disappears.
_To appreciate the play, one must understand its protagonist. From the bloody battlefields of the Civil War to his own haunted mind, 19th century writer Ambrose Bierce drew upon his experiences as a soldier and observations as a journalist, to create collected works of more than four million words. These include more than 90 short stories, a unique dictionary, numerous political essays and columns, books of poetry, and an assault on the waltz. Yet the man nicknamed "Bitter Bierce" faded from life somewhere in Mexico, enveloped in a shroud of mystery.
_The two-act play, produced at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, opens on a moonlit room, with adobe walls and sparse wooden furniture. A typewriter sits waiting

on one side and a bottle of sangria on the other. Beneath the window is a bed covered with a blood red blanket. At center stage, a leather chair holding a weathered man, with a gun stuffed inelegantly in the waist of his pants; Ambrose Bierce (Thomas Burks) is expecting this to be his last night of life, by either his own hand or a posse's rope.
_His anticipation is interrupted, however, when his cousin Albert (Jody Gilmore) arrives with journalist William Brand (Ron Cohen). They do their best to persuade Bierce to return with them to the States, but Madam Esperanza (Yvonne Arias), in whose "house" Bierce is holed up, keeps the wine flowing and by sunrise he is compelled to do otherwise.
Burks is crusty, wry and characteristically cynical in the lead role. He reeks attitude and charisma. Gilmore is sincere, and sometimes heartwarmingly funny as Bierce's preacher cousin. Cohen portrays Brand, the journalist sent by William Randolph Hearst to bring Bierce home, with gusto. As a madam, Yvonne Arias is almost too refined and well-dressed to be believable, but she is effective,

especially when yelling in Spanish.
_Costumes are by Adrienne Wellisch and the men's clothing clearly define their roles. Bierce's coat reflects his character's remarkable transformation to brilliant effect.
_Pre-show music, partly performed by Burks, creates a mood of loneliness, and Carey Crockett's set design is rich in color and detail.
It's interesting to witness a debut performance. On the whole, Foster's script is tight, the actors are well rehearsed and the premise is intriguing. The story needs more clarification and epilogue, and the actors are challenged by a play heavy on dialogue. With minimal tweaking, the rough edges will be smoothed.
_Ambrose Bierce, perhaps best known for his political satire and ghost stories, was both an intellectual and a man's man, and the play certainly appeals to that. When Bierce delivers his last lines, the poem "Abracadabra" from his own "Devil's Dictionary," it is a moment both of comic cynicism and haunting self-eulogy.