Some say we are guided by the stars. If this is so, our existence is often at odds with the plans of the Gods or the trepidation of the spheres. Though we may seek to align ourselves simply with the will of the universe, or God, Allah, Vishnu, Christ or whomever or whatever we may pay respect too, we are rather often as lost wayward children. By having strayed far from the paths of fate we are entangled at the crossroads of life’s myriad of byways, guided by forces both internal and external which sometimes push us in the wrong direction, leading us up blind alleys and down dead end roads.

It is precisely in this confused and misguided state of being we find the characters of “Angels In Heat”, a play written and directed by Sean Szak Prasso presented at Beckman Theater at The American Theater for Actors. The four main characters are all in a position of recovery, in a state of suspended yet mobile animation in which their pasts, marked by failures of love, or reason, has led them into a false journey for which the way has not been marked – a journey from which they must return and pick up fate’s trail, a trail clearly marked by cupids arrow – true passionate, unquestionable love.

It is this love which guides vivacious Dixie Cambell, played by Annie Unger with utter perfection, to return to a town where a past love lives. Blake Jean, played byTravis Bergmann, again, excellently, had been Dixie’s lawyer and had unsuccessfully defended her in a serious case which led to Dixie’s imprisonment. During this trial, Blake and Dixie had a love affair which Blake tried put behind him after Dixie was convicted, but not so Dixie. Dixie escapes prison, and her heart’s desire propels her back to Blake, who she finds is married! Along the way Dixie meets another of fate’s accomplices – or Cupids victims – Chase Collins. Though Chase appears a calm and modest easy going country boy, this demeanor belies his pain and angst caused by a disrupted love affair and a life who’s direction was lost. Dustin Pazar plays this roll with subtle-confidence that succeeds in projecting the sad irony of his situation.

Blake”s wife, Charlotte Jean, played accurately by Amanda Stamm, figures prominently into the course of events – another piece to this puzzle. She and the other characters spin around and collide with each other in a ritual, like a chemical reaction seeking its point of equilibrium. Accompanying this mini psychological maelstrom is Deborah, a role fulfilled by Amy Losi. Deborah has a brief appearance but in her short time on stage manages inadvertently to throw a good deal of gasoline on this already raging fire. Let us say that there is no dearth of obstruction, denial, suspense, sexual tension, loud noise, angry quarrels, blackmail, humor, sheer beauty and even acrobatics to prompt fate along its convoluted path.
This smorgasbord of venal sin offers us a look at characters who are inherently good, if misguided. They are angels indeed, but with ill-fitting halos It is served up in delightful seamless writing and flawless unselfconscious and throughly cohesive acting, showing the hand of a competent director Sean Szak Prasso, who, again, is also the author.

Passion is a tool which accompanies our hearts desires. It is the enforcer, the sergeant at arms to the gates of our internal truths. It imparts power to our attempts to control life’s most inflexible ironies, and it is the tension of this irony which propels our existence. The unpredictability of our passion and the polarity of the various elements of our existence, in combination with inherent goodness in most of us, makes us all, at least part of the time, “Angels in Heat”.