Theater review | Revenge fantasy follows twists and turns of 'Criminal Hearts'

Don't go mad, ladies. Just get even.

That's the take-away from the sharp-toothed comedy "Criminal Hearts," by the pseudonymous playwright Jane Martin, which Artattack Theater Ensemble is staging at VoxBox, their new pocket-sized basement venue on Capitol Hill.

Martin's schematic little revenge fantasy wedges into this cubbyhole (it seats about 20) quite cozily.

It's a tale about recently divorced Ata (Andrea Nelson) who quickly transitions from wildly neurotic socialite to assertive mastermind — mainly due to a female grifter who drops by to rob her one night.

The con woman, Bo (Devin Rodger), has many tips to pass on to desperate former housewives like Ata.

Like how to suspend moral misgivings about lying, cheating and stealing to get even with the former mate who done you wrong.

Ata's ex-husband, Wib, a smug lawyer in designer shoes, is just such a mark. As smoothly played by Martyn Krouse, he's a perfect poster boy for yuppie scum.

Of course Wib, and Bo's luggish partner in crime Robbie (Justin C. Lockwood), are cartoony male figures designed to deserve every punishment a female piles on. And the pointed contrast between the effete morality of rich liberals vs. the pragmatic street ethics of "honest" criminals is drawn with a wide, wide brush.

But there are enough shrewd mini-twists and clever retorts in "Criminal Hearts" to keep it quirky and amusing — though it would snap along better if director Liz Moisan encouraged her actors to pick up the tempo, particularly in a lagging first act.

One she gets up to speed, Nelson impresses as the hyper-mercurial Ata. Just when her histrionics in the part get insufferable, Nelson switches gears into righteous indignation, whimpering terror and giddy triumph.

Nelson's full-bodied portrayal (while wearing a nightgown, and later a designer ball gown) is complemented by Rodger's more contained turn as the proudly ruthless Bo.

Both help you buy into an ending that leaves off right about where "Thelma and Louise" (the hit female crime-spree film released in 1991, a year before "Criminal Hearts" debuted) got interesting.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com