Relationship skits are fresh, thoughtful in Beowulf show www.tucsoncitizen.com ®:
"From out of nowhere, Beowulf Alley Theatre Company has come up with a huge hit. 'Fifth Planet and Other Plays' by David Auburn is sketch theater at its most charming. Funny as well as thoughtful, fresh as your favorite organic veggies." Grade: A
Published: 01.24.2008
Relationship skits are fresh, thoughtful in Beowulf show
CHUCK GRAHAM
Tucson Citizen
From out of nowhere, Beowulf Alley Theatre Company has come up with a huge hit. "Fifth Planet and Other Plays" by David Auburn is sketch theater at its most charming. Funny as well as thoughtful, fresh as your favorite organic veggies.
After having endured seasons of local theater where the newest play on the menu would be a Neil Simon comedy (and everybody had one), Auburn's poignant humor is irresistible.
We're not talking quick quips and snappy retorts, or silly pratfalls and rude noises. We're talking sweet and thoughtful sketches that leave you smiling, appreciating life a little more. Plan on time for a drink or cup of coffee afterward. You'll surely want to talk about this show.
Auburn was just getting started as a playwright when he wrote "Proof," the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play of 2001 that he subsequently rewrote into a successful film in 2005. Talk about a fast start.
Most of these sketches were written before "Proof" turned Auburn into an overnight success. This is writing filled with the joy of living rather than the ego of clever brain-flexing.
All the skits are about relationships, basically. Single people wondering if they will ever meet The One. Married couples wishing they could put the magic back into their marriage. Divorced people, of course. Other lonely people peering into the bare light of an open refrigerator.
Desperate as these characters sound, each of them displays the most amazing courage under fire. Nobody loses hope. Jokes become weapons, firebrands of light to hold back the darkness.
Irony is also an active ingredient. At the curtain call on opening night it was almost impossible not to rush the stage and give each actor a big hug.
Structurally, the longest pieces are the first one, "Fifth Planet," and the last one "We Had A Very Good Time." In between are five more of various lengths and elaboration.
A few props and a couple of costume touches set each scene and determine the situation. Summers directs with a light hand, eschewing any impulse to exaggerate the dialogue.
"Fifth Planet" is a sketch with 44 scenes. Many last just a few seconds. Like remembering a yearslong relationship, the highlights flash by in no time.
Stephen Cruz plays Mike, a guy fooling around with a small telescope after work. Johanna Hudson is Veronica, a professional astronomer who thinks Mike is just a dumb janitor at the observatory where both are employees. As they get to reluctantly know each other, the caste system of academic protocol keeps them apart.
Once both lose their jobs, they become more like equals. Sort of.
To keep all these stories fluffed up, Summers has assembled a cast of 14 remarkable players. This gives her the chance to keep introducing new faces. All of them, in roles big or small, maintain the quality of a balanced ensemble. The matching of so many talents brings additional joy to the evening.
The actors are: Danielle Shirar, Jeremy Womac, Victoria McGee, Steve McKee, Roger Owen, Chris Farishon, Samantha Cormier, Josh Galyen, Edgar Burton, Alan Crombie, Elise Lopez, Joel Charles, Hudson and Cruz. Cast as stand-ins are Jonathan Northover and Taylor Genovese.
Grade: A
"From out of nowhere, Beowulf Alley Theatre Company has come up with a huge hit. 'Fifth Planet and Other Plays' by David Auburn is sketch theater at its most charming. Funny as well as thoughtful, fresh as your favorite organic veggies." Grade: A
Published: 01.24.2008
Relationship skits are fresh, thoughtful in Beowulf show
CHUCK GRAHAM
Tucson Citizen
From out of nowhere, Beowulf Alley Theatre Company has come up with a huge hit. "Fifth Planet and Other Plays" by David Auburn is sketch theater at its most charming. Funny as well as thoughtful, fresh as your favorite organic veggies.
After having endured seasons of local theater where the newest play on the menu would be a Neil Simon comedy (and everybody had one), Auburn's poignant humor is irresistible.
We're not talking quick quips and snappy retorts, or silly pratfalls and rude noises. We're talking sweet and thoughtful sketches that leave you smiling, appreciating life a little more. Plan on time for a drink or cup of coffee afterward. You'll surely want to talk about this show.
Auburn was just getting started as a playwright when he wrote "Proof," the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play of 2001 that he subsequently rewrote into a successful film in 2005. Talk about a fast start.
Most of these sketches were written before "Proof" turned Auburn into an overnight success. This is writing filled with the joy of living rather than the ego of clever brain-flexing.
All the skits are about relationships, basically. Single people wondering if they will ever meet The One. Married couples wishing they could put the magic back into their marriage. Divorced people, of course. Other lonely people peering into the bare light of an open refrigerator.
Desperate as these characters sound, each of them displays the most amazing courage under fire. Nobody loses hope. Jokes become weapons, firebrands of light to hold back the darkness.
Irony is also an active ingredient. At the curtain call on opening night it was almost impossible not to rush the stage and give each actor a big hug.
Structurally, the longest pieces are the first one, "Fifth Planet," and the last one "We Had A Very Good Time." In between are five more of various lengths and elaboration.
A few props and a couple of costume touches set each scene and determine the situation. Summers directs with a light hand, eschewing any impulse to exaggerate the dialogue.
"Fifth Planet" is a sketch with 44 scenes. Many last just a few seconds. Like remembering a yearslong relationship, the highlights flash by in no time.
Stephen Cruz plays Mike, a guy fooling around with a small telescope after work. Johanna Hudson is Veronica, a professional astronomer who thinks Mike is just a dumb janitor at the observatory where both are employees. As they get to reluctantly know each other, the caste system of academic protocol keeps them apart.
Once both lose their jobs, they become more like equals. Sort of.
To keep all these stories fluffed up, Summers has assembled a cast of 14 remarkable players. This gives her the chance to keep introducing new faces. All of them, in roles big or small, maintain the quality of a balanced ensemble. The matching of so many talents brings additional joy to the evening.
The actors are: Danielle Shirar, Jeremy Womac, Victoria McGee, Steve McKee, Roger Owen, Chris Farishon, Samantha Cormier, Josh Galyen, Edgar Burton, Alan Crombie, Elise Lopez, Joel Charles, Hudson and Cruz. Cast as stand-ins are Jonathan Northover and Taylor Genovese.
Grade: A
