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Like a persistent tickle in your nose, Billy Goda’s Dust and its unlikely plot about two men driven to destroy each other over a trivial matter titillates, but never delivers the big sneeze.

Well-off businessman Martin Stone (Richard Masur) works out in a hotel fitness center where Zeke Catchman (Hunter Foster) is employed as a handyman. Stone demands that Catchman, who happens to be an ex con, clean some dust off an air vent and has him fired when he doesn't comply. “This isn’t over,” Catchman warns, and then delivers dust busters to Stone and his daughter, Jenny (Laura E. Campbell), as portents of his plot of revenge.

Jenny, rebellious and contemptuous of her father and his money, falls for Catchman, enjoying her father’s discomfort with the situation. Stone hires a body guard, Ralph (John Schiappa), who suggests that the business man's problem might best be solved by eliminating Catchman. Meanwhile, Catchman battles a drug addiction, with the help of his childhood friend and parole officer Bobby Lawton (Curtis McLarin, who, in a curious piece of doublecasting also plays Catchman’s old drug dealer Digs).

Catchman and Stone do go through periods of self examination and want to call off the vendetta, but the dust just won’t settle and tragedy ensues. “Everything is out of control,” they say in unison. (Especially the plot and character development, we’d add.)

Despite humor, some nice fight scenes (directed by Rich Sordelet) a really nifty blood effect and some intriguing plot possibilities, the dust never clears enough so we can understand the characters or their actions. The performers, under the direction of Scott Zigler, aren’t able to get below the surface of their underdeveloped characters. Masur seems bored, and even with a gun to his head, doesn’t seem all that concerned or frightened. Maybe that’s due to the fact that it’s hard to look at the wholesome Foster, cast against type here, and believe he’s a violent psychopath.

On some levels, playwright Goda seems unsure about this characterization of Catchman himself. Although the conflicted script tells theatergoers Catchman is dangerous a few times, many of his actions say something different: he stands up for underdog Lawton; he doesn’t hurt Jenny and even cares for her; he doesn’t kill Stone when he has the chance; he seeks help for his drug addiction; he wants to call off the vendetta and live a normal life. Are these the behaviors of a psychopath unable to control his violent rages?

Foster does manage to explore some of the recesses of his infuriatingly enigmatic character, and the most compelling moments in the production come when Catchman succumbs to the lure of his addiction.

Caleb Wertenbaker’s set, laid out in three sections, serves as the fitness center, Catchman’s home; Stone’s home and the exterior of Lawton’s residence with a few changes of pictures on the walls or furniture. A bland mustard yellow color extends from paint to paneling, to wallpaper to carpet linking all of the scenes. A lack of colors in the set and props and nondescript clothing from costumer Theresa Squire contribute to the feeling that nothing and no one stands out and what starts out as an intriguing thriller bites the dust.

---- Lauren Yarger

Dust plays at the Westside Theater (downstairs, 407 West 43rd Street). Performances are Tuesday - Friday, 8pm; Saturday, 3pm and 8pm; Sunday, 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are $65.00 and can be purchased by calling (212) 239-6200.