The Woodsman

By Steven Fechter. Directed by Morris Ertman. A Pacific Theatre production. At Pacific Theatre on Friday, April 4. Continues until April 26

For everybody, including pedophiles, the most important organ is the heart. And heart is the most important element in The Woodsman.

Playwright Steven Fechter tells the story of Walter, a child molester who is trying to rebuild his life after 12 years in prison. The play presents him as a struggling human being rather than as a monster—a viewpoint a lot of us need to be reminded of, it seems.

Walter watches another pedophile entrap a young boy, without doing anything about it, and there’s a creepy scene in which Walter invites a prepubescent girl to sit on his lap. So the script isn’t altogether simplistic. Still, it’s a bit of a fairy tale. Walter meets a sensible and attractive woman named Nikki, who accepts him without hesitation on their second date, despite her awareness of his proclivities. And Walter sees a caring therapist, apparently more than once a week. I doubt that kind of support is universally available.

This Pacific Theatre production makes the script work, with all its strengths and weaknesses. Dirk van Stralen reveals Walter’s pain and, most touchingly, his empathy. In the best work I’ve seen from her, Rebecca deBoer makes a tough and sexy Nikki. And Michael Kopsa is a chameleon in multiple roles.