Dream Cafe- Experience #2

This will be short and sweet, as I have already reviewed DREAM CAFE once. As I mentioned, though, I would be seeing it multiple times.

In my second attendence, the scene order was: Dessert, Home, Strong Coffee, Slow Drip, Bitter, and Instant.

Again- IT WAS STUNNING. It drew gasps and tears from not only me but the entire audience. In addition to the genious that is the script, this particular night, there wasn't a single missed beat by the actors. Every scene began and ended with a total commitment to the moment by every actor, and the emotions were more real, more raw than I have experienced in a long time. The characters' journies and the outcome of the story was almost opposite this time from my first experience, and I felt like I hadn't met these characters or heard any of these lines before. Not only had the scene order changed, so had the motivation and the underlying emotion of every single word uttered. It wasn't until it was over and I was contemplating (and comparing notes) in my car did I truly begin to understand the different story I had experienced. Only then was I beginning to truly grasp all the stories within this script and the power of each and every one of them.

I told Mark-Brian I simply had to keep attending. I'll keep going until I either run out of money or get the ending to the story that I want. It's theatrical therapy for this love-sick and hopeless romantic of a critic!

GOMMORAH GO GO

Fight Boy Theatre’s GOMMORAH GO GO at Art 6 Coffee House, Denton


__________________________GOMMORAH GO GO__________________________


Kevin Wickersham’s GOMMORAH GO GO as produced by Denton’s Fight Boy Theatre, is the type of play that comes about in a theatrical frat house at two o’clock in the morning after a night of drinking- funny, raunchy, a little thoughtful and an almost success.

“Once upon a time in the Bible, there were two sister cities called Sodom and Gommorah. These two towns where the dirtiest, sexiest places on earth until one day God sent his two sexy dude angels to deliver his all mighty wrath. See what goes down- or up- in Sodom and Gommorah!” (from Fight Boy Theatre’s promotional materials.) Taken from the Biblical account found in Genesis 19, we see what happens when the sexy angels meet Lot (the only good man left), his horrible wife and his two daughters. And, oh yeah, God is a big drag queen and the arch angel isn’t all he appears to be either.

This is Wickersham’s first venture into both playwriting and directing, and his natural talent and rookie mistakes are both clearly evident. The play is well cast and blocked for the outdoor (aka backyard) playing space that is Art 6. The script itself, though humorous and shocking, only glazed the tip of all this story from the Bible could do. It could have been a political or even religious commentary. It could have been raunchier and funnier if some higher brow comedy had been incorporated, rather than a constant stream of jokes a 13 year old could concoct. It could have been taken to an even further extreme, on all levels, and then leaked to local churches to stir up a bit of a protest outside the fence- there truly is no such thing as bad publicity! Wickersham, nonetheless, guided his cast and crew into this fun production relatively well. For those who are willing to throw all seriousness to the wind, it was a good night of laughter.

Fight Boy Theatre makes a lot happen for very little money. (In the pre show speech, they even solicited donations on the basis of the need for fans to cool the audience on these hot summer nights.) The Biblical-ish costumes by Joshua Scott Hancock were pieced together from the closets of the actors, the local thrift stores and I even noticed an article or two recycled from last year’s production of LYSISTRATA. Set Designer Joshua Baker made heavy use of simplistic signs (heaven, Gommorah, and a street sign pointing to a variety of destinations including UNT and TWU). Sound Board Operator and Stage Manager Brandt Richey was even included in the storyline, but otherwise facilitated the sound effects and music the story required.

Pat Watson (no relation) as Lot gave a truly stunning and believable performance. I felt, given his talent, the story of Lot should have been extended. The second act was just too short, too choppy and too unfinished. There were a hundred places Watson could have taken his portrayal of Lot after leaving Sodom and Gommorah, given the dialogue. Lot’s Horrible Wife, who ends up turning into a pillar of salt (a trick a high budget theatre would have struggled with onstage, and Fight Boy Theatre’s creative tongue and cheek staging reminiscent of junior high productions worked), was loudly, aggressively, perfectly HORRIBLY played by Polly Maynard. She never gave up from belittling Lot, to the point you wondered why either of them married the other. As performed by Maynard, Lot’s wife was truly a bitch who no doubt deserved what she got. The two “virgin” daughters, Brittany Fowler and Ellaine Patman, only shined in the second act when they broke the fourth wall to discuss characterization and the plot synopsis. (A special ad-libbed line about giving up and going home to watch THE GOOD GUYS- Mondays on Fox at 8pm- was particularly funny.) The rather awkward portion of the story- when the daughters trick their father into sleeping with them in order to have children and carry on the bloodline, is a rather dark portion of Biblical history. This is where the script seemed to stall out, and the actors were left to fumble with motivation, any comedic relief, and even unclear blocking.

David Wickersham as Archie, the angel who points out the sins of Sodom and Gommorah to a less than interested God (Joshua Scott Hancock) was straight laced and matter of fact. His deep voice and commanding stage presence correctly lead me to assume a surprise twist from him in the end. He assisted in narrating the action and kept the story moving along. A flamboyant, toe nail painting God could only have been pulled off by an actor fully committed to this portrayal, and Hancock nailed it. In addition, Hancock also timed his delivery of lines such as “JESUS CHRIST? “Who, sir?” “Never mind.” And “One testament at a time, people, one testament at a time.” with easy pizzazz that had the audience both thinking and laughing. The two sexy dudes, Joseph Coulter and Mickey Farmer, had less sex appeal than confidence, but they worked it in their cut off shorts and bandanas.

The chorus was a hodgepodge of young college aged actors grinding each other and mouthing off sexual innuendos and perversions. They harmonized well consistently, though, as no one could utter Sodom and Gommorah without a gregorianesque chant erupting. The chorus was a blanket mass mob of sexual deviants. This was an area that more individual attention could have been paid to deepen the sac religiousness of the evening rather than skimming the top with predictable, albeit funny, stereotypes. As with any ensemble show, the chorus is full of the unsung heroes of theatre- those who know they aren’t being watched every second but nonetheless create a fully developed character and never once stop putting all their energy into conveying who and what this character is to any audience member willing to give them a few seconds of attention. I have no doubt, as my friend told me during his rehearsal period, that hips hurt from all the thrusting. I can’t say that he, nor the audience, really seemed to mind the pain though.

Art 6 even joined in the fun, offering Sodomizers to customers who dared for perverted pleasure.

GOMMORAH GO GO could have been a lot of things, but what it was played out as a night of blushing giggles and shocked gasps. Not a wasted evening, but not all it could have been either. I would love to see it again if Wickersham dared to go even further in his mockery- so long as my pastor doesn’t find out!

http://fightboytheatre.webs.com/

*REVIEWED 06/06/10 PERFORMANCE

Directed by Kevin Wickersham
Written by Kevin Wickersham
Stage Manager and Sound Board Op: Brandt Richey
Assistant Stage Manager: Michele Cote
Set Designer: Joshua Baker
Costume Designer and Choreographer: Joshua Scott Hancock



CAST
Lot: Pat Watson
Lot’s Horrible Wife: Polly Maynard
Daughter #1: Brittany Fowler
Daughter #2: Ellanie Patman
Archie: David Wickersham
God: Joshua Scott Hancock
Sexy Dude Angel #1: Joseph “Captain” Coulter
Sexy Dude Angel #2: Mickey Farmer
Chorus: Doug Arnold, Jonathan Adams, Caleb J. Creel, Kristina Lujan, Bryan Thomas Patrick, and Dara Prati

American Buffalo

Broken Gears Project Theatre’s AMERICAN BUFFALO at the I.S.P. Studios Theatre, Irving


__________________________AMERICAN BUFFALO_________________________
Reviewed by ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC, Laura L. Watson , THE COLUMN

David Mamet’s AMERICAN BUFFALO as produced by Broken Gears Project Theatre is an amazing display of acting and design talent, though most of the story and point of AMERICAN BUFFALO was lost on me.

“AMERICAN BUFFALO is David Mamet's engrossing, tragic take on the American Dream. Three men struggle in pursuit of their warped vision of success. Things take a violent turn in the end when corruption takes over and ideals are betrayed. At times cynical, humorous, and poignant American Buffalo is an emotionally charged, classic piece of American theater.” (taken from Broken Gears promotional materials.)

The play is set in Don’s junk store over the course of one day circa 1975. It opens with Don and Bobby cleaning up after a card game the night before. Through their conversation, we learn they have a job to do that night. Teach enters later and through the conversation we learn they plan to rob someone of his valuable coin collection. The second act begins about 12 hours later as they prepare for the robbery and end up turning on each other rather violently. There is a whole host of other characters who take on very real and defined personalities though we never see them. This play would EASILY be rated R for language alone. I dislike this play, very much, but was mesmerized by the performances being given. I got more from the actors than the storyline. Mamet seemed to be more about high emotions, yelling and swearing than anything of substance happening. The actors, though, with the assistance of the entire Broken Gears Project team, held my attention and kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting for the story to take off.

I.S.P. Studios in Irving is a very small space, allowing for only about 40 chairs, though the performance play space is quite ample. Set Designer/Dresser Cindy Ernst had the difficult task of outfitting the space with junk, yet junk that didn’t overpower the storyline and was period appropriate. I made a note in my program, even, that it looked like every prop the theatre company had ever used or had donated was placed on stage. I wanted to go shopping after the show was over- you never know what treasures are under the junk! The store itself was well constructed and felt very much like every junk store I’ve ever been in (and I’ve been in a lot.) The lighting was appropriately dark in the second act, but a little too dark for the daytime scene of act one.

AMERICAN BUFFALO was well cast and directed. Director Diana Gonzalez guided her actors to finding their inner motivation and creating wide character arcs where the dialogue hinted at nothing. The blocking never felt planned- always organic and well suited to the space. Terry Yates as Don, Alex Worthington as Bob, and Mike Schraeder as Teach were all ridiculously believable and likeable, faults and all. They each delivered the rapid, intense dialogue with precise diction and clearly had motivation for each line and all action (though I was never clued in). Schraeder was extremely good at what I like to call “detail acting”- the little things that clue us into the character such as repetitive yet specific gestures. Yates had the greatest discovery and the most layers to reveal- from the gentle, fatherly figure to his explosive anger in the second act. Worthington gave an extremely believable performance as the simple minded, good hearted, just wants to please “the guys” Bob.

As I said before, I don’t like the play, but I’d see AMERICAN BUFFALO again and again to soak in the astonishing performances given by these three fine actors. I eagerly await the next production from Broken Gears Project Theatre because I know it will be “risky, accessible, progressive, and socially aware theatre that will challenge” me.

Broken Gears Project David Mamet’s American Buffalo through June 19th.

Performed at I.S.P. Studios located at 1957 East Irving Blvd. - Irving, Texas 75060. www.brokengearstheatre.com


*REVIEWED 06/12/10 PERFORMANCE

Reviewed by ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC, Laura L. Watson, THE COLUMN

Directed by Diana Gonzalez
Written by David Mamet
Stage Manager: James McKenzie
Asst. Stage Manager: Ben Schroth
Technical Director/Lighting Design: David McKee
Set Designer/Set Dresser: Cindy Ernst
Asst. Technical Director/Asst. Set Designer/Head Carpenter: Joe Truitt
Asst. Set Dresser: Clare Kapusta
Property Designer: Joel Frapart
Costume Designer: Justin Locklear
Scenic Painter Kaori Imai
Producers: Whitney Holotik, Andrew Aguilar, Joey Folsom


CAST
Don Dubrow: Terry Yates
Walter Cole aka Teach: Mike Schraeder
Bob: Alex Worthington