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Peer Reviews
Regrets Only Leaves
You with No Regrets
A review by Joe Monroe, II
Entire contents are copyright © 2007
Joe Monroe, II. All rights reserved.
Regrets Only, Pandora's season
opener and its third Paul Rudnick play, provokes
thought, challenges the status
quo, and keeps you
laughing. Pandora has a winner.
Paul Rudnick is known as the quintessential writer of gay comedy. I, personally,
didn’t know that there was such a thing as “gay” comedy, and
I am still not sure if I would classify this play as one.
It is a satirical comedy that is truly funny. Rudnick likes to deal with
social and political issues, and this show tests relationships, loyalties,
and convictions on both of those levels.
Scene one of three introduces most of the characters. Best friends Tibby
(played by Carol Tyree Williams) and Hank (a famous, gay dress designer whose
partner has recently passed -- played by Dale Strange) are planning a night
on the town, party hopping to various upper-class social events. Spencer
(Sarah Meuler), a big-time lawyer, enters bragging about her seven-figure salary
and announces to everyone that she is marrying an investment banker. In
the same scene, Jack (Sean Childress), husband of Tibby, father of Spencer and
also a big-time attorney, receives a call from the President of the United States, asking
him to help change the Constitution and come up with a clear definition of marriage
that would limit it to being between a man and a woman. Jack takes the
challenge and invites Spencer to help him. Spencer immediately begins to
ask the question, “What is marriage?”
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Dale
Strange (left) and Carol Tyree Williams
in a scene
from Regrets
Only, the season
opener from Pandora Productions.
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Hank feels his friendship is betrayed by Jack and
Spencer for even considering the President's offer.
Scenes two and three deal with Hank putting a
plan in place to show his friends and others what
the world would be like without gay people. Although
the ending is predictable, the jokes and characters
keep the audience's attention.
This show has a great cast, with its most memorable character being Myra (Greylyn
Gregory), the only white Jewish maid in New York. She keeps the first scene
going by being omnipresent, entering and exiting while delivering punch lines
in various accents. Later, other things are revealed about her character,
but she is consistently the comic relief and a breath of fresh air when scenes
are getting too serious or starting to drag.
Michael Drury showcases excellent directing skills as he brings this Rudnick
play to life in the beautiful Bunbury Theatre. Missing this show would be
a "regrettable" mistake.
Regrets Only
By Paul Rudnick
Directed by Michael J. Drury
August 30- September 16, 2007
Bunbury Theatre at the Historic Henry Clay
604 South Third Street
Louisville, KY 40202
http://www.pandoraprods.org/
Posted Sept. 4, 2007
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