Following on from his first original play last year, the acclaimed Angel in the Heat, writer/director Prasso has delivered another intense character study, featuring many actors from that production but this time taking us back to 1986 Long Island. Obscene Desire centerson Emma Reed (Annie Unger), on the night before she leaves for college. Her BFF Scarlett (Samantha Seiff) wants to go on a girls’ night before the big move, though Emma had promised to see her possessive boyfriend Greg (Dustin Pazar) that night. The brooding Greg has returned to the drinking problem that has caused many past issues, and Emma is on the cusp of leaving him. Emma and Scarlett’s adventure leads them past the home of Emma’s teacher Henry Johnson (Travis Bergmann), who they see through the window striking his wife Jennifer (Jean-Marie Stodolski). Despite Scarlett’s protests Emma is called to take an action that puts her in danger, as she soon finds that the woman she thinks she is rescuing is not what she seems. Meanwhile the tortured Greg meets with his pot-loving buddy Adam (Jonathan Beebe), who urges him to move on from both Emma and the booze. He puts a gun on the table and asks Greg to go to the shooting range with him. The pot begins to boil as the three sets of characters get ever closer to climactically converging.

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The twists, turns and revelations that follow make Obscene Desire a gripping one-act; none of them will be spoiled here, but what can be said is that Prasso has done a masterful job of making the characters grow more 3-dimensional before our eyes. The dark past is revealed and motivations become clear, as the characters go from sinister to sympathetic, well played by actors who are clearly quite comfortable working with each other in such an intense situation. The 80s vibe—the music, the hair and outfits, and the pivotal lack of cell phones, coupled with the normal-at-the surface suburban atmosphere (homemade cookies, gardening, baseball and cruising through town) give an old-school horror movie vibe, which shifts to psychological drama as we learn the tragic backstory that brought them all to this fateful night.

It all comes together to make Obscene Desire a very satisfying theatre experience, with a writer/director and his cast at the top of their game and telling a thrilling nail-biter of a story. One looks forward to seeing much more from this talented team.

Obscene Desire runs at the Beckmann Theatre at the American Theatre of Actors through May 10, 2026.