From the opening alarm bell signifying an institutional lockdown, Gina Montet’s Dangerous Instruments, now playing at Palm Beach Dramaworks, foreshadows the all-too-familiar inevitability of gun violence in America. Told as a gripping case study of a young, mentally troubled boy and his mother’s battle to save him from being dismissed by an inadequate social services system, the story is fictional, yet it has the harrowing impact of truth.
We never meet Daniel onstage, but we hear of his exceptional, off-the-charts intelligence and destructive behavior, which alienates him from his classmates and confounds his teachers and therapists. Expelled from schools and passed through a gantlet of broken, indifferent programs, it seems inevitable that he will fall through the cracks and either harm himself or others.
When such violence occurs, we often ask how the signs of imminent mayhem could have been missed. But in Daniel’s case, the red flags were all there and recognized. Nevertheless, Montet describes a system unable to do anything to prevent the inevitable. And while Dangerous Instruments does not directly address the current administration’s indifference to the Daniels of the nation — the play was begun in 2020 — we must assume the situation is only becoming worse.
Daniel’s only advocate is his increasingly frustrated and angry mother, Laura, a single parent whose fierce efforts to gain help for her troubled son face a bureaucratic brick wall. Director Margaret M. Ledford draws a remarkable, intense performance from Savannah Faye (Laura), making not only her Dramaworks debut but her first professional stage appearance. Muscular yet nuanced, Faye’s full-throttle efforts to bring attention and assistance to Daniel suggest a very promising future for the actress.
The four supporting cast members are led by Matt Stabile, the Florida Atlantic University Theatre Lab’s producing artistic director, as Paul, 4-year-old Daniel’s first principal, caring but ineffectual to the plight of this ticking-time-bomb tot. Taking on multiple roles of educators, social workers and therapists are Jessica Farr, Bruce Linser and Maha McCain, who also appear in close-up video interviews by Adam J. Thompson, perhaps conducted by the media following the unspecified tragedy’s aftermath.
Commissioned by Palm Beach Dramaworks and developed through its 2023 new works festival, Dangerous Instruments ticks off Daniel’s years from ages 4 to almost 14, prior to the violent events, rather than the more frequently examined conclusion.
Where, asks Montet, does the responsibility lie for the wayward behavior of the many Daniels and his ilk — with the parents? The teachers? The unhealthy, often unaffordable health care system? While her play is clearly well-researched, Montet offers no answers and little glimmer of hope, but places the audience in the crosshairs, asking what we would do in such an untenable situation as Laura faces.
Samantha Pollack’s scenic design is aptly impersonal, adapting quickly to the play’s many locales, aided by Dylan B. Carter’s naturalistic lighting and Roger Arnold’s soundscape. Collectively, they add up to a documentary-like production that underscores the play’s stark message.
DANGEROUS INSTRUMENTS, Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Through Sunday, June 1. Tickets: $92. 561-514-4042 or visit palmbeachdramaworks.org