THEATER REVIEW : Actor Turns Tragedy Into Art of Catharsis : In “Twice Blessed,” Art Metrano draws upon the serious fall that changed his life.

Nothing rivets our attention more tenaciously than a well-told personal narrative, and in Access Theatre’s “Twice Blessed,” Art Metrano tells his with the control of a trained actor, the timing of a Borscht-belt comedian, and the emotional impact of someone who’s returned from a profound journey.

Still, probably very few of us would consider Metrano’s circumstances a blessing. In 1989, his life as a successful actor, husband and father came to an abrupt end when a fall from a ladder--the kind of idiotic accident, we can’t help thinking, that could happen to any of us--fractured his neck in three places and left him a quadriplegic.

During his lengthy recovery, Metrano threw himself into intensive rehabilitation therapy. His onstage presence is a testament to his determination--he can now move, unassisted, using a single crutch, transforming the lingering stiffness in his limbs into an eloquent prop as he tells his story.

Quite unexpectedly, however, Metrano’s courageous struggle to regain his physical mobility plays only a small part in that story. “Twice Blessed” is about something more fundamental--the transformation of one man’s character brought about by adversity.

The show’s monologue format is deceptively simple. Sometimes Metrano speaks to us in direct address; at other times, he draws us directly into his colorful anecdotes with deft characterizations--growing up in an Italian-Jewish Brooklyn neighborhood, where his friends didn’t know “whether to shoot you or sell you the bullets,” hurling wisecracks at a resolutely humorless physical therapist, or trying to escape a deranged parking lot attendant shooting at him over a $4 parking fee.

Playwright Cynthia Lee has sculpted Metrano’s reminiscences into a tight emotional roller coaster that careens between outrageous humor, black despair, and ultimate acceptance. A particularly effective sequence revisits Metrano’s fall, when he lay undiscovered for nearly an hour drifting between humorous memories and dawning horror.

Further thought should go into the later description of his son’s battle with possible lymphoma, however; as written, it’s more of a distraction from the through-line of Metrano’s own story.

As in all Access Theatre productions, the show is signed by a live interpreter for the hearing impaired. Rod Lathim’s direct, uninterrupted staging is ideally suited to a script that calls for minimal clutter and maximum focus on Metrano doing what he does best: speaking to us with the confessional intimacy of a best friend.

The confessions are not always flattering, but they’re pivotal--from the swaggering conceit in his illusion of controlling his own destiny to the recognition that he was carrying on the abusive patterns of his father in his own emotional bullying. In his eloquent closing, this boisterous extrovert opens a window into the inner transformation that’s brought him peace.

“I’ve been blessed with adversity,” he tells us. “I’ve learned to accept the limitations of my body. I know now it doesn’t define who I am, or what I can yet become.”

Details

* WHAT: “Twice Blessed”

* WHEN: Through Dec. 19, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

* WHERE: Paseo Nuevo Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara

* COST: $15-$16.50

* FYI: For reservations or information, call (805) 963-0408