By Autumn D. F. Hopkins

For the Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Donuts are not your life! Donuts are not anybody's life!"

But donuts are in fact the life of a recent play by the Charleston Stage Company, not so much donuts but a rundown, bedraggled, donut shop somewhere on a grimy Chicago street.

"Superior Donuts," by Tracy Letts, is a witty social commentary neatly wrapped in your basic run-of-the-mill buddy comedy.

Arthur, played by Joe Miller, is a working-class, white, draft-dodging, ex-hippie who inherited Superior Donuts from his parents, a pair of hard-working Polish immigrants grasping for the American dream.

Miller does an excellent job with his character, convincingly apathetic towards life, love and donuts. At one point, he even manages to forget to buy the coffee, and local donut-eating beat cops, played by Russell Hicks and Terry Terpening, are forced to buy a round of Starbucks for Arthur and themselves.

The other half of the buddy duo is Franco, played by Stuart Frazier. Franco is a young, energetic black man, a bit racist, who is an aspiring author, full of big dreams but immersed in debt to a local bookie.

With energy to burn, Frazier kept the audience laughing and the stage hopping with his antics from a black poet's quiz to an impromptu rendition of Stevie Wonder. Arthur and Franco together make an unlikely, if not by now, somewhat cliché pair. Miller and Frazier play well off each other. The pair had great chemistry and made a believable duo.

The play departs from the comedic with serious monologues by Arthur on everything from war to politics, divorce and racism. The underlying tension is felt from the beginning in Arthur's apathy towards the vandalism of his shop, but these depressing and dark asides lend a serious quality to the play that was not felt in Act I.

Act II brings the hammer down on Franco's gambling debts and finds the whole play taking on a darker, more sinister turn.

Overall, this was a great play. There were no obvious opening night snafus, and the cast was stellar. The supporting cast, whose comic relief almost took over the show, was especially entertaining.

Tim Mace, as Max Tarasov, the shady Russian businessman who owns the electronics store next door, was flawless in his Russian accent and his wildly entertaining portrayal of every Russian cliché known to modern civilization. He was hysterical.

Special notice should also go to Terry Terpening, who as beat cop Randy Osteen, was a comically awkward and hysterical cross between Barney Fife and Ellie Mae Clampett.

This play is a definite must see, although, I caution the reader that it is not for families or children. Some of the subject matter is harsh, there is a copious amount of foul language and some drug use. Overall, it is a great adult night out and I hope that everyone will take advantage of this weekend and next to catch a talented cast put on an excellent show.