Perp

There’s been a string of murders in Philadelphia, and, unfortunately, Douglass (Ali Arkane) is the perfect fall guy: a tragically trusting man-child who likes to talk to earthworms in the same woods where the killer prowls. Lyle Kessler’s play, for Barrow Group, is intriguingly odd, like a shaggy, sardonic fable that’s both sinister and sweet, and it often teeters on the edge of absurdity. These are tough tones to pull off in combination, and, though the cast is sure-footed and appealing, Lee Brock’s direction is inconsistent: the scenes with Douglass’s avuncular cellmate, Myron (Craig Mums Grant), and, after Douglass escapes from prison, with the frighteningly off-kilter Harry (Javier Molina) play well, but the ones featuring the two alarmingly snarky detectives who set Douglass up (Tricia Alexandro and Paul Ben-Victor) don’t quite keep pace with the dialogue’s antic energy.