Villanova Theatre presents Owen McCafferty's adaptation of 'The Gambler'

Guest director David Bradley directs 10 graduate students in a low-budget yet quite accomplished production of McCafferty's work in progress. Chris Monaco plays Russian tutor Alexei, who's devoted to Polina (Sisi Wright). She's also pursued by Englishman Astley (Nikitas Menotiades) and Frenchman Grieux (Dan Cullen), both of whom are financially entangled with her floundering stepfather, the General (Leo Bond).

Wilder, and more wild

Rachel O'Hanlon-Rodriguez plays the Narrator, who, like Thornton Wilder's Our Town Stage Manager, leads us through the tale and plays a variety of functional roles such as bartender, waitress, and croupier. She's much feistier than Wilder's genial host and describes the casino in the fictional town of Roulettenburg by saying, "There is no magnificence here. This is a trashy place." Her disdain sets a darkly comedic tone.

When Polina -- far more complex than the ingenue she first seems to be -- spontaneously dares Alexei to insult a passing German baron (Brishen Miller) and his wife (Lize Meisenzahl), she sparks a chain of events that changes everyone's lives. Love and money -- rather, rejection and debt -- intertwine for Polina and Alexei. The same follows for the General and Blanche (Megan Slater), who knows her lavish lifestyle depends on landing a rich man.

All will be well when the General inherits his ailing grandmother's fortune, so when the brash dowager, played by Ellen Walter, arrives and discovers gambling, everyone's plans are upturned.

Place your bets

This being Dostoevsky, expect no happy endings. When Alexei realizes he's "not someone who gambles, but a gambler," the play takes a powerfully dark turn beyond all the relationship and financial negotiation. How does gambling “success” change a person?

Some might fault Bradley's production for the actors' lack of accents to match their characters' origins, but this workshop production rightfully focuses on sharing the story, which might be obscured by such an effort. Rachel DelVecchio's scenic and costume designs suggest the period and many locations ingeniously with few resources, and Andrea Rumble-Moore's lighting likewise leads us through the story. Heather Lemos's sound design makes the roulette wheel's clattering a harbinger of cruel fate.

As The Gambler's narrator tells us, "All good stories are love stories," even if much of that love is for money and gambling. McCafferty's adaptation needs further cutting and shaping, but tells an exciting story that resonates.