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Peer Reviews Empty
Nest (Alone Together) Entire contents are copyright © 2007, David DeSpain. All rights reserved.
Empty Nest (Alone Together) by Lawrence Roman opened on Thursday May 24th to a packed house at Derby Dinner Playhouse. It is billed as a "must see for every 'empty nester.'" Not so sure that it deserves that moniker, but it was certainly well received by those in attendance. And the majority of those attendees were assuredly of an age that they could have been empty nesters. The play centers around George and Helene Butler and what happens once their third and final son Keith goes off to college. George and Helene begin making plans for how they will spend their newfound time alone together, only to discover that their other two sons have moved back home. And while Keith does not move back, he does send Janie, a woman he has just met, to live with his parents for a while. George and Helene battle with wanting to be good parents while at the same time wanting to reclaim their privacy and dreams. The play has a solid opening with a good ten minutes of witty banter between George, Helene and Keith. There is nothing that will make you roll on the floor, but the dialogue is obviously meant to make you chuckle and relax into the play, and to this end it serves its purpose. As the story unfolds, the laugh lines are a shade fewer and further between, but they seem to be more woven into the plot line rather than attempts at laughs for laughs' sake. Overall I thought that the writing was good, but not necessarily stellar. The two positive exceptions to that would be the conversation regarding Helene's painting of a dot and the discussion between Helene and Janie concerning celibacy. Who knew celibacy could be funny? David Myers, as George, is immediately George, and gives a sound performance throughout the show. It would be difficult to think of any way that he might improve upon what he did on opening night. It seemed that Elizabeth T. Murff as Helene, however, took more time to settle into her role. Still, in all, by Act Two she is very much into character and entertaining to the end. Myers and Murff play very well off of each other while on stage and are decidedly the stars of this production. The other characters are written more as caricatures and are obviously there to be the zany that plays against George and Helene's normal. This was tough to handle at times. Matt Wallace as Michael, Brian Bowman as Elliott, Mathew Brennan as Keith, and especially Janet Essenpreis as Janie play characters that are so far over the top that they become distractions. The fault probably lies more with the playwright than it does with the actors or the director. Derby Dinner is obviously playing to its fan base with this show, which is not a knock -- merely an observation. If you are of the age that you have grown children who might at any moment move back home, you will decidedly enjoy this show, while at the same time hoping that a similar thing doesn't happen to you. If you are an individual who has moved back home with mom and dad, watch out. You are being indicted. (Probably rightfully so.) Empty Nest is showing at Derby Dinner Playhouse in Clarksville now through June 30th. Tickets are generally under $40, which includes a decent buffet dinner -- though why anyone would put out steamed carrots for any reason is a mystery -- and can be ordered by calling (812) 288-8281.
Empty Nest
May 22 - June 30, 2007
Posted May 25, 2007
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