By Charlotte K. Jarmy

Theater review

Rebecca Gilman’s thought-provoking drama “Spinning Into Butter” hits its semicomic, semidramatic pace when it opens with the romantic breakup of dean Sarah Daniel (Lorri Holt) and teacher Ross Collins (Dan Hiatt).

From there, the play captures the audience’s interest - first through laughter at the witty dialogue, then with the serious theme of racism on a sedate Vermont college campus.

Like the slow peeling of an onion, the focus turns to Sarah’s emotional self-analysis. Holt uses her considerable acting talent to develop her painful change from a kind and intelligent administrator, shocked when Simon (one of the few African-American students) receives threatening letters, to a woman caught in her own bitter confessions about prejudice.

The set, a bland office, develops into a tense place where Holt finds herself tested. The tension shows in Holt’s tightly held slim body and a face alternately reflecting her satirical jabs at a former lover to her near implosion as she moves toward total honesty. Hiatt creates a carefully designed contrast to Holt’s intensity as he tries to understand her, then encourage her to act on her conflicted emotions. His body is comfortably relaxed as he becomes the audience she needs when she admits to fear and anger at rude black students in her past teaching experience.

Patrick Chibas (Brian Stevens), a student who calls himself a “person of color,” speaks to Sarah about a scholarship but refuses to label himself by race. “Nuyorican” is the term he uses that Sarah thinks is an evasion of the truth. It is Stevens who, in a powerful scene, breaks through Sarah’s inability to be truly honest in her racial beliefs. “Nobody listens to me,” Patrick says, pointing out the human pain that racism causes.

We never see Simon in the play. His complaints arouse the fears of the other deans, Catherine Kenney (Margaret Schenck) and Burton Strauss (Warren Keith), who scurry to cover up the problem with a forum on racism. Their purpose is to keep the problem out of the news and perhaps to hurt Sarah.

Sarah’s second-act monologue reveals Gilman’s deepest theme: “Public dialogue is not real dialogue,” rather a way to cover up speech between individuals. Holt’s impassioned acting takes over the act. Gilman obviously wants to build to this climactic moment, but she took too long to let Sarah’s secret out. The play was no longer about racism but about Sarah’s battle with prejudice.

Gilman points to the inability of most of us to be open about racial differences. The other deans are self-involved, as is white student Greg Sullivan (Richard Gallagher). Only security guard Mr. Meyers (Tom Blair) sees the students as people, whatever their color, and he shows Sarah the way to “do something” about the problem.

“Spinning Into Butter” runs through Sunday at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets: 903-6000.