2 Wallaces from Salt Lake City come to life on stage

"WALLACE," through March 14, Plan-B Theatre Company, Rose Wagner, 801-355-2787, running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes (no intermission)

The premise and concept of "Wallace," Plan-B Theatre Company's latest production, is an interesting one: Take two one-man plays about two men with seemingly nothing in common and turn it into a night of theater.

Playwright Debora Threedy worked with Plan-B producing director Jerry Rapier on "Where I Come From," a one-man show she wrote for the Stegner Symposium. Rapier was then introduced to the story of Wallace Thurman and approached Jenifer Nii to capture his life in "Fire."

So, based on nothing more than the fact the men shared the name Wallace and they both called Salt Lake City home at some point, an interesting evening of theater was born.

Stegner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, moved around quite a bit as a child, but felt most at home in Salt Lake City. Thurman, a young, gay black man at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Salt Lake City but never felt like it was home and couldn't wait to leave.

The two actors are wonderful. In a heavy sweater and a sweet demeanor, Richard Scharine as Stegner is warm and endearing.

His pain from a brute of a father, his guilt over a mother he never fully recognized, and his love for the wilderness were all believable and well-told, even heartbreaking at times.

But it can be difficult to hear his soft-spoken delivery while he sits and turns his head.

By contrast, as Thurman, Carleton Bluford explodes on to the stage with an energy befitting a man in the middle of the Harlem Renaissance and the "nigerati," as he called it.

His boyish face and facial expressions make his story-telling engaging, in spite of an often quite rapid delivery.

Cheryl Ann Cluff's sound design is perfect — helping to paint the picture of locations and moods, understated and never overpowering.

It is fascinating to hear the men reference things that really happened; some happened right here in Salt Lake City — like Thurman being one of the first to address racism among the same race, or Stegner's dad killing his lady-friend, then turning the gun on himself.

There is also an interesting stages-of-life feel; one that for better or worse that has been lived, versus a young life with a world of possibilities.

"Wallace" has moments that feel slow, and sometimes the hop-skipping around feels a bit disjointed, but I left with a gained appreciation for both men and for the place we call home —wherever that is.

Sensitivity rating: Some strong language.

e-mail: ehansen@desnews.com