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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews Finnigan's Festival of Funky Fresh Fun Presented by Finnigan Productions Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents copyright © 2009, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.
This presentation of short plays and scenes produced by local theatre talent is indeed funky in the best sense of that word. Loose and at times experimental, the material ranges from brief but vivid vignettes to fully formed stories that resonate more deeply. Although decidedly uneven in its result, taken as a whole it simply works. The evening begins on an offbeat note with Visit Me from the Future, by Nathan Green, as four actors engage in a mysterious ritual designed to welcome, with suitable fanfare, a visitor from the distant future. It effectively serves notice to the audience that this will not be traditional theatre, and was a well-chosen introduction. Of the briefer pieces, Games People Play, by Carlos Manuel, was a brief and tidy illumination of role reversal in a counseling session that was pitch-perfect in its writing, sharply directed by Rand Harmon and performed by George R. Bailey and Todd Zeigler with adroit comic timing. Mr. Bailey and Mr. Zeigler both score again as a lounge singer of little talent and his pot-head manager in Jeffrey Scott Holland's Patrick Amsterdam. Unfortunately, Sherry R. Deatrick's Beak Wet Everybody misfires. Her idea of an unsophisticated, rural family obsessed with online shopping is a ripe idea, but it seemed underdeveloped in its writing and rushed in its execution. Todd Zeigler's Dream Out Loud was a nicely structured comedy about a bank guard who dreams of glory as a costumed crime-fighter, and it was a good showcase for an energetic central performance from Jeremy Sapp, although there was some confusion resulting from inconsistently English accents. In Fluffy, Nancy Gall-Clayton nicely explored the relationship dynamics of a couple coping with the death of a beloved pet, with nice work from Sarah East and Andy Epstein as the husband and wife. It wasn't clear to me what $427.32, by Andy Epstein, was meant to accomplish beyond pushing the bounds of good taste in its graphic depiction of a young man's first experience with a prostitute. The writing contained nicely observed detail, but in the service of what larger idea? But the two actors, Kelly Kapp and Jeremy Sapp, are so good here, they almost make it work. Love Religiously, by Doug Schutte, was an attempt at something more complex, depicting Adam and Eve as a modern-day couple (the appropriately positioned fig leaves tacked onto to their contemporary clothing was a clever touch) seeking couples therapy with Chiron, taking temporary leave from his duties on the River Styx, while an ineffectual Jesus looked on. It works for awhile, but eventually the idea loses steam. Still, this struck me as the piece with the most potential to develop into something larger. Commentary on present-day issues, such as the financial crisis, is juxtaposed with nursery rhymes to nice effect by Carrider Jones in A Real Mother Goose Tale, which was a showcase for four actresses who appeared throughout the evening: Sarah East, Kelly Kapp, Leah Roberts and Delilah Smyth. The proceedings wrapped up on a strong note with a broadly conceived attack on the inanities of "reality" television in Christa Kreimendahl's Dream American, which correctly underscores the manipulative quality inherent in the very idea of filming "normal life," and Tad Chitwood's Fair Trade, which was easily the best piece of the evening. Doing double duty as director, Mr.Chitwood's work perfectly illustrates the power of the short play format, as he creates an afternoon encounter between two married people who seek adultery, if they can only figure out how to go about it. The characters and situation are well written enough to suggest the history that brought them to a hotel room without having to waste the audience's time with tedious exposition. As any good short play should, it cuts to the heart of the matter and delivers unexpected depth of feeling and understanding for these two wounded people. Leah Roberts and Jeremy Sapp do full justice to the material in their sensitive performances. Whatever shortcomings present in the writing were minimized by the eager and energetic cast, all handling multiple roles throughout the evening. When, as a finale, they all stood, shoulder to shoulder, to exhort the audience to support local theatre by sounding off the names of what seemed like every local group I could think of, it may have been corny and over-earnest, but it also seemed appropriate and generous. The love of theatre expressed in the work we had just witnessed was so infectious, it made it impossible to argue with the worthwhile message.
Finnigan's Festival of Funky Fresh
Fun
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