A haunting ‘As I Lay Dying’

In the dense, stream-of-consciousness narrative fiction of William Faulkner, the manner of the storytelling is as important as the stories being told. As with all master stylists, the inherently literary qualities that distinguish Faulkner’s works make them difficult to translate into a dramatic medium.

All the more reason to applaud Open Fist Theatre Company’s haunting, superbly performed original adaptation of Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying.” Told primarily through an intricately constructed succession of interior reflections by members of a Depression-era Southern family and their acquaintances, Edward Kemp’s meticulously crafted script illuminates the complex characters and narrative spine of Faulkner’s novel without compromising the eloquence of its varied lyric voices.

Little more than a few spoken lines at a time suffice for vivid performances to evoke the dirt-poor Bundren clan in all their tortured frustrations, sullen resentments and moments of unexpected dark humor. The play’s Southern Gothic tone is set by the defeated Addie (Tish Hicks), who oversees the construction of her coffin from her deathbed and returns in eerie narrations to unravel the lies that have bound her brood together in place of love and loyalty.

For her next of kin, the arduous wagon journey to bury Addie’s rapidly decomposing body in the town of her birth proves a shattering crucible created out of impeccably portrayed character definition. Her selfish, parasitic husband, Anse (Rod Sell) seems as eager to be rid of her as he is willing to accommodate her burial wishes. Her five children are a study in stark contrasts, shaped by agonized relationships to a mother for whom childbirth only confirmed her aloneness: the passionate, fiercely independent outsider Jewel (Ryan Honey), whose special connection to Addie is shrouded in mystery; stoic, single-minded Cash (Joe Hulser); dour daughter Dewey Dell (Lisa Soloway), more concerned with her out-of-wedlock pregnancy than with the success of their journey; young Vardaman (Kalan Shires), who voices uncomfortable truths with the brutal, unsentimental honesty of childhood; and high-strung dreamer Darl (Joe Mellis), the sole family member who cared for Addie and pays dearly for it.

Stefan Novinski’s inventive staging keeps the story briskly paced and visually engaging; he was ably assisted by the reunited creative team behind the company’s highly regarded 2001 production of Caryl Churchill’s “Fen.” Scenic designer Donna Marquet once again fashions gritty tableaux out of raw earth and wood, while Drew Dalzell’s sound design weaves atmospheric natural effects with snatches of troubled folk tunes. Heather Henson’s ingenious use of silhouetted puppets further expands the world of the play with stylized shadow horses, buzzards, forlorn road signs and other visual elements referenced in the text.

As in “Fen,” performance and staging elements seamlessly nurture one another in a completely immersive theatrical reality. “As I Lay Dying” is even more successful, however, thanks to stronger source material -- when it comes to archetypal narrative and psychological depth, you can’t do better than William Faulkner.

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‘As I Lay Dying’

Where: Open Fist Theatre, 1625 N. La Brea Ave., Los

Angeles

When: Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.

Ends: April 26

Price: $15 (Sundays, pay what you can)

Contact: (323) 882-6912

Running time: 2 hours, 20

minutes