Badge

This dark comedy slips a stitch in its second act with the tale of a stunted adolescent.

By Ellen Wernecke

“You’re 28 and you’re still in the Boy Scouts?” That pretty much sums up Roy (Greg McFadden), the protagonist of “Badge” at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Roy lives to earn his badges even as his scout master (Darrell James) is looking for a way to politely tell him he’s too old. When a gorgeous drifter (Tara Falk) shows up to borrow some money, Roy gets a little distracted for the first time since his last girlfriend killed herself. It’s enough to distract him from his new house-cleaning job on the Upper East Side… and maybe from his meds.

“Badge” packs the stage with jollies aplenty, but when these crazier characters take the stage, “Badge” sputters to a halt. Roy, as addled as he is, can’t compete with the scenery-chewing former socialite (Glynis Bell) and the blustering cop (James again). He just can’t hold his own, and as he fades, so does our interest. Having seen the entire play, this seems to be writer Matthew Schneck’s point; but Roy’s peculiar foibles are never completely explained or even fully explored.

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“Badge”
Beacon NY Productions
Through July 1
Rattlestick Theatre, 224 Waverly Place (@7th Ave.)
Shows Mon, Wed - Sat at 8pm; Sun at 3pm
Tickets $18, SmartTix.com