A.E. Araiza / arizona daily star

Other articles by Dennis O'flaherty:

It all started at a Parisian pay toilet Ex-UA student directing 'Miracle' This won't be same old 'South Pacific' Simply incredible transformations Goya show gets modern pairing 'Pump Boys and Dinettes' fits in with folk and biker festivals here 'Holy Spirit' a journey of self-realization Play based on papers woman hid from Nazis Beowulf Alley brings a rich farce to town 'Beauty' of it is that it was first an opera, then a movie

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Don't let the title fool you.

Borderlands Theater's next production, "Topsy Turvy Mouse," isn't a whimsical piece about computer components.

It's a very serious play about a very serious subject — the consequences of our actions. Borderlands gives the Peter Gil-Sheridan play its world premiere next week.

"Topsy Turvy Mouse" is set in the near future. Fifteen-year-old Richie finds a disturbing photo pasted to his locker. It shows his parents during their service in Iraq. As Richie explores the truth of his family's past, he finds himself in the midst of a local murder mystery.

"The play isn't really focused on Iraq, and it doesn't take a political stand," said Barclay Goldsmith, who is directing the production.

"What it does examine is how the smallest actions in our daily lives can have totally unforeseen consequences."

Developed as part of the Mentor Project at New York's famed Cherry Lane Theatre, "Topsy Turvy Mouse" also was presented at the National New Play Network's showcase in New Jersey, where it attracted the attention of Goldsmith.

"The play's premise was really interesting and fruitful," he said, "and it's no surprise that it won the NNPN's Smith Award, which is given to the best new play that explores American politics."

Still, Goldsmith insists that politics as such are not the central concern of the show. "You remember those studies at Stanford and Yale about how normal people can become abusers? This play is like an artistic case study in how that can happen, and who such people are," he said.

"If you look at daily life, anywhere from the playground to the office, you'll see there's something in group activity that can bring out a mean streak in just plain folks. A lot of people may be turned off to politics and Iraq, but everyone is interested in what this show is really about — the stuff that swims around in people just below the surface."

A wide spectrum of local groups — from the Arizona Humanities Panel to Wingspan and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League — will be holding post-show panels.

"The show speaks to all of us," Goldsmith said, "and I've got a really good cast to put it across, including two young local actors who play Richie and Amit, as well as old-timers from Borderlands and other Tucson theaters. This is good drama, and it makes you realize you don't want to stop talking about serious things just because you're burned out on the 9 o'clock news."