Revenge Tragedies have a programming appeal and currency during tough times, and "`Tis Pity She's a Whore" running at Center Stage in Baltimore (to 4/5) is no exception. Harold Bloom's "Anxiety of Influence" - where great poets (read Shakespeare) cast their pall over future writers - must have hung heavy on the playwright John Ford, who keeps raising the stakes on this already gory plot.  The star crossed lovers (here brother and sister), three standard suitors, and clueless patriarchs (secular and religious) precipitate the accidental and intentional poisoning and stabbings, eye-gouging and evisceration, and unbridled payback, which boil over in the second part of the play.  All this might sound good on the page, but the play itself has the feel of a closet drama.  After you announce incest in the first scene where do you go? Irene Lewis, the director, has done a serviceable job cutting down this 5-act play into a 2 ½ hour performance, but she's working with a script that lacks dramatic tension: the audience then as now knows where this is heading and it takes a long time getting there.  The addition of the black shrouded wing-of-desire La Morte, while contributing visually and symbolically to the play, did nothing for the dramatic effect. Perhaps we're less patient and more distracted viewers - I noticed several patrons checking text messages during several slow points in the action.

Matters were complicated by the lead actress who did not seem to find her way into the roll, and who was not in sync with the delivery called for by blank verse.  This led to some awkward moments with her partner in crime, who was otherwise solid, and titterings in the audience who largely remained quiet right up to the end.  You know you're in trouble when the lead actress picks up her severed heart following curtain call

That said there were some strong performances given by the supporting actors: Felicity Jones was provocative as the grieving widow (Hippolita), energizing every scene she was in, while Carmen Roman as (Putana) made it look easy, exploring every crafty nook of her character's psyche.  Also notable were Reese Madigan (Vasquez) as the swashbuckling moral force of the play, though his Spanish accent sounded a little closer to the New World,   Richard Ruiz (Bergetto) who plumbs the narcissistic bottom of his comic character, and Tim Artz (Richardetto) who plays his incognito roll with great aplomb.

Digital Dramaturgy is an excellent resource that CS offers; go online to check it out (http://www.centerstage.org/).  CS's Pearlstone Theater is a great space with a large stage suitable for such a panoramic performance and intimate viewing from the house.  Recommended for veteran theatergoers and literature majors looking to fill in the Jacobean period.  

Sound check: Normal
Program notes: Exceptional
Applause meter: 2 1/2 hands