The characters in Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning dramedy How I Learned to Drive are so multidimensional and real, it's shocking to learn the play isn't autobiographical. Vogel told PBS's NewsHour she wanted to approach "Lolita from Lolita's point of view," so yes, this is a play about pedophilia.

Uncle Peck (Tim Hoban) says and does things in the first scene no adult should ever say and do to one's niece or, for that matter, any teenaged girl. That the girl in question, nicknamed Li'l Bit by her blunt family, is played by an adult actor named Heather Christopher, only helps a li'l bit. What makes the scene bearable is Vogel's decision, executed delicately by the cast and director John Ficker, to play it in fully-clothed pantomime.

Thankfully, we laugh as often as we cringe. But it's tough for an actor to play a character he abhors, and I imagine that explains Hoban's downcast eyes through much of final dress. Despite his hesitation, though, he manages to walk a narrow line between smarmy and skeevy. Christopher relaxes sweetly into a naturalistic performance 180 degrees removed from the campy vixens she's specialized in the last few years; it's good to watch her dig deeper into her toolkit. Chorus members Pamela Arndt, Thomas Neely, and Brittni Reinertsen offer capable assistance, and Ficker makes excellent use of Tom Sanders' flexible set.

It's a credit to Vogel's balanced writing and Prodigal Sun's calibrated production that as Uncle Peck pulled Li'l Bit deeper into his gravity well, I found myself blushing with discomfort and concern for the characters, rather than looking away in embarrassment for the cast.

How I Learned to Drive

presented by Prodigal Sun Productions
Through Nov. 20, 8 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, also Sunday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m., $12
Midnight Sun Performance Space, 113 N. Columbia St., Olympia
360.250.2721