SHOWING : April 24, 2013 - April 28, 2013
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6 plays by Hank Kimmel, Annie Harrison, Hilary King, David Fisher, Nick Boretz, and Daniel Guyton show the absurdity of the human, and post human condition. You're doomed, so you might as well enjoy the ride, but you'll have to figure it out for yourself.
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Umbrellas x 6
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Sunday, April 28, 2013 |
3.5
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Umbrellas act as the unifying element in the dystopian sextet of short plays that make up "Way Outside the Fringe." A man carries an umbrella to an outdoor theatre in "Looking for Our Town." A book and an umbrella appear as props in "In the Shadow of a War." "Kate's Date with the Apocalypse"; features a trio of players dancing with umbrellas. "Painting Umbrellas" wields one of the world's last remaining umbrellas as protection from rock storms. A tattered umbrella makes an entrance in "Bringing It Home." As for "Talking Heads," well, it's the exception that proves the rule (in more ways than one).
As is always the case in these collections of playlets written by different authors and directed by different directors, the quality varies. Only two really pull together to work as unified pieces of theatre. The others have elements of interest, but aren't truly engrossing. In the latter group are "Looking for Our Town," which is a surreal look at the experience of a playgoer (the empathetic Adam King); "Kate's Date with the Apocalypse," which unbelievably pairs a young couple, purportedly together for five months, in which the man asks the woman compatibility questions on the eve of the Mayan apocalypse; "Painting Umbrellas," which is a muddle of a story taking place in a world where water has all but disappeared; and "Bringing It Home," which to me is self-referential drivel masquerading as improvved absurdity.
"In the Shadow of a War," by Daniel Guyton, is a cut above. It's highly reminiscent of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," but seems to take place in some sort of dungeon in which two prisoners cower and read from a blank book, awaiting a coming war. The dialogue is opaque and repetitious, but very nicely delivered by Jerry Jobe and Bob Winstead. Julie Taliaferro's direction prevents the action from becoming static. It provokes thought, but it's the sort of piece that needs to be done to perfection to work on all levels. It's good here, but not perfection.
"Talking Heads" is heads above the rest -- three heads, in fact, played by James Connor as cynical Steve, Joe McLaughlin as level-headed Bob, and Joel Coady as newbie Phil. It's a clever concept, humorously realized by author/director Dave Fisher and the trio of fine actors. As is often the case with Mr. Fisher's short plays, "Talking Heads" doesn't really fit in with the overall tone of the evening. It's more polished, more professional, and thoroughly entertaining. Unfortunately, the rest of the plays can't match its level. [POST A COMMENT REGARDING THIS REVIEW] |
[REVIEW THIS PRODUCTION]
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| Tapas IV, The Great Divide
by Benedict, Bray, Bruna, Freeman, Martin, Shima, Steadman, Whitehorn, Wang,
Academy Theatre
| |
| Working
by Adapted by Nina Faso, Stephen Schwartz, Gordon Greenberg; Songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, James Taylor, Micki Grant, etc.
Out of Box Theatre
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