The performances and Rupsch's staging remain engaging, aided by the understated, evocative lighting and sound effects of John Retsky and Marc Hagan. Sebastian doesn't achieve the thematic resonance or even relevance the playwright intends. But Provenzano delves into too many aspects without really developing them: Joey's sexual quest, his wrestling, his school life, his relations with various adults, his faith. There are some beautifully written passages, particularly a moving eulogy delivered by Levine and Joey's letter to the now distant Dink.
Things become more diffuse after the intermission as Joey deals with the aftermath of those events and his new identity as a gay teen and, officially, borderline delinquent. The tension builds to a dramatic first-act climax as an act of terrible violence catalyzes and compromises Joey and Dink's relationship.
Most of the cast is strong, and director Stephen Rupsch deftly varies the pace and keeps the action flowing smoothly through Provenzano's many short scenes. A bronze medalist at the '98 Gay Games, he's not only woven the sport and its preoccupations well into his story but also contributed some very effective fight choreography. It helps that Provenzano knows his wrestling. The treatment of Joey's parents is particularly refreshing, if frustratingly truncated, with nice work by Megan Towle as his tender, fiercely loving no-nonsense mom (as well as Dink's more sophisticated mother and a concerned youth counselor) and Mitchell Lee Marks (who also plays the nonjudgmental coach) as a working-stiff dad trying hard to be understanding. Provenzano develops these aspects well in the first act, as Joey's problems are compounded by his teammates' reactions to the out gay Anthony (Nate Levine), a former friend.
"PINS" is a novel by Jim Provenzano, a popular sports columnist for the Bay Area Reporter, about gay high school wrestlers who run afoul of the law and end up separated and under such supervision. PINs are numbers you need to access your bank account, but PINS is an acronym for "person in need of supervision" in the juvenile justice-social welfare world. Pins, besides being helpful fastening devices and items knocked over in bowling alleys, are wins in the sport of wrestling, achieved by pressing one's opponent's shoulders to the mat.