A solo show that will break your heart

John Knowles’ coming-of-age novel, “A Separate Peace,” is encapsulated in an image of boys flinging themselves from a tree’s high branches into the river below. They are defiant, reckless, free -- but only for a moment, because jealousy, competitiveness and fear are about to bring them crashing back to earth.

The story comes vividly alive in a solo show adapted and performed by Brian Foyster. Reworked and expanded since a well-received local presentation in 2000, the show -- which faithfully retains the delicate nuances of the late Knowles’ 1959 original -- is being presented at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theatre.

Told from the distance of adulthood, the story looks back to 1942 when the narrator, Gene, and his best pal, Phineas, were 16-year-olds enrolled in summer session at a boys’ prep school in New Hampshire. Gene is a bookish sort who begins to realize his potential in sports and other areas while rooming with Phineas, a gifted natural athlete and all-around great guy to whom all the other boys naturally gravitate.

Blond, square-jawed and sinewy, Foyster could be the now-grown incarnation of either character. Shoulders slightly hunched, with watchful, almost worshipful eyes, he is Gene, who, at times, can’t believe his luck in being considered the best friend of this extraordinary guy. With shoulders thrown back and a sly half-grin on his face, he becomes Phineas -- capable, confident and very comfortable in his own skin.

Now and again, reverberations of World War II echo through the idyllic summer. Then competitiveness wells up in Gene and, in one tragic moment, these boys at play become like men at war.

Depending upon how you read between the lines, you may also see another emotion propelling the action. It is love, which should be a beautiful feeling, but Gene grows suddenly fearful of it and, subconsciously, sets out to destroy it.

Foyster’s performance is graceful, athletic and poignant under Jason McConnell Buzas’ direction, while Sandy Lee’s lighting -- painted onto a blank backdrop -- subtly illuminates moods. The combined effect is quietly, heartbreakingly beautiful.

*

‘A Separate Peace’

Where: Renberg Theatre, the Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, L.A.

When: Thursdays and Fridays, 8 p.m.

Ends: May 16

Price: $15

Contact: (323) 860-7300

Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes