Kathleen Turner and Evan Jonigkeit

The national tour of Matthew Lombardo's play High starring Kathleen Turner launched at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston last night, but failed to take wing. Despite the obvious cachet of two-time Golden Globe winner and Academy Award and Tony Award nominee Turner in the starring role of Sister Jamison Connelly, Lombardo's quasi-autobiographical screed against addiction and for believing in miracles is a weighty mash-up of psychobabble and quotes from scripture that struggles to convey a cogent message.

Having been raised as a Catholic and, for the last five years, being a recovering crystal meth addict, it makes sense that Lombardo has an interest in exploring the convergence of these two worlds from the perspective of an insider. To give him his due, he gets his facts straight about ways in which the disease manifests itself in the behavior and attitude of 19-year-old Cody Randall (Evan Jonigkeit), the homosexual, drug-dealing prostitute whom Sister Jamie is attempting to rehabilitate. His character is the most authentic of the three, and Jonigkeit's total absorption of Cody's dopey, resistant persona is one of the few reasons to keep watching this underwhelming play to the end. However, there are major inconsistencies with the other characters, and Lombardo's delineation of the faith vs. addiction theme is one-dimensional.

Sister Jamie is a multi-faceted personality with a tough exterior, who swears like a sailor and takes a no holds barred stance in her dealings with her client and her superior, Father Michael (Timothy Altmeyer). Of course, her outer crust belies her marshmallow center, which eventually will lead to her downfall. (This isn't really a spoiler because Lombardo has a way of telegraphing the outcome early on, and all that remains to be seen is exactly how it will happen.) Much of what we learn about Sister Jamie is delivered to us in narrative monologues interspersed with her scenes with Cody and Father Michael. Standing in a spotlight on the darkened stage, with a thousand points of light glittering on a backdrop, she describes her formative years as a reluctant churchgoer and the child who took a backseat to her prettier, smarter sister. Her own alcohol addiction and years of living on the streets inform her calling as both a rehab counselor and a nun, yet seem to have left her with few resources to deal with the challenges she faces in her relationship with Cody.

In a role created with her in mind, Turner is onstage for the duration of the play and is a watchable presence. Her body language and facial expressions communicate Sister Jamie's toughness and softness, her insecurities and self-doubt, as well as her ambivalent feelings about Cody. Turner's finest moment occurs when Sister looks within and faces her own failings, feeling the full impact of what she's been through and what she ultimately needs. However, Turner seemed a little under the weather during this performance, periodically coughing in some of her speeches.

The role of Father Michael is the most glaring problem in High as he behaves like a possessed wind-up doll who is quoting scripture one minute and smirking maniacally the next. At first, he is supportive, and encourages Sister Jamie with warmth and faith, only to bully and cajole her when she seeks relief from her assignment. Reflecting the worst of generic priestly stereotypes, he dissembles, at best, and divests himself of any shred of morality or integrity in the end to justify his means. Altmeyer is unable to find a groove for the constantly changing face of his character, until, perhaps out of sheer exhaustion, he gets to Michael's innermost hurt in his final scene.

The three characters share a common trait of living with excruciating emotional pain as a legacy of their pasts. Lombardo has a lofty goal in tackling these issues and proclaiming that faith and belief in miracles is the way for people to change. However, his method of using the theater as preachy soapbox feels more like Sunday sermon and less like dramatic entertainment. The black and white message is underscored by David Gallo's set design and Jess Goldstein's costumes, with only intermittent grey nuances provided by John Lasiter's lighting. Lack of amplification hinders understanding what is going on, especially when Director Rob Ruggiero's blocking has the actors facing upstage or sitting on the floor.

High opened and closed on Broadway in a period of six days last April following high-grossing, record-setting runs at Hartford's TheaterWorks and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. This poses a conundrum and only time will tell whether Lombardo's play has legs to last on the national tour. Do you believe in miracles?

High through December 11 at Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts; Box Office 617-824-8000 or www.aestages.org. A new play by Matthew Lombardo, Directed by Rob Ruggiero, Set Design by David Gallo, Costume Design by Jess Goldstein, Lighting Design by John Lasiter, Sound Design & Original Compositions by Vincent Olivieri; Production Stage Manager, Ana M. Garcia

Cast: Kathleen Turner, Tim Altmeyer, Evan Jonigkeit

Photo: Lanny Nagler

- Nancy Grossman