Opinion: Hilarious And Pithy
For his midwinter serving of theatrical entertainment, the irrepressible Michael Disher has come up with "January InterAct," two evenings of short plays presented in repertory by the Southampton Players at Southampton College.
Written by upcoming playwrights, these welcome dollops of drama are staged with minimalist black props on the Fine Arts Theatre's bare, black stage.
Photo by Gary Mamay
Each is pithy and, to a varying degree, hilarious. Such was the case, at least, with "A Heap of Stroppel," the four plays by Frederick Stroppel presented on Friday evening.
Thirtysomethings
They were followed on Saturday by five Robert Shaffron one-acters called "Questionable Acts - An Unguided Tour of the Human Zoo," not seen by this reviewer. The program will be repeated tomorrow and Saturday at 8.
Both playwrights' works have been performed in Manhattan at the En semble Studio Theater and on other Off-Broadway stages; Mr. Stroppel's full-length comedy "Fortune's Fools" was produced at the Cherry Lane.
His "Heap" is a medley of one-acters about New York thirty-something seekers of better sex, greater intimacy, a reliable baby-sitter, and even time travel. They approach their goals with shifting degrees of spunk and skepticism.
Libidinal Fantasies
In "A Chance Meeting," Randy (Matthew Suzan Lawrence) and Pamela (Monica Mercedes) shoot for hotter marital relations by meeting at a bar disguised as their fantasy selves, she in a black dominatrix outfit complete with garter belt and chains, he in a $50 false moustache and a corporate-raider suit.
Their exploration of their libidos is rudely interrupted by the arrival of George (Ray Hamlin), who turns out to have the best fantasy self of all.
"Single and Proud" takes place at a singles seminar led by Jackie (Laura Flynn), who goads Steve (Chris Lombardo) into putting the make on the all-too-willing Sylvia (Vay David), a raunchy grandmother with "three dead husbands" in her past.
During "ice-breakers" and "dough nut breaks" he steels himself for the assignment, but the timely arrival of Jeanette (Devin Rodger) leads the plot down a kinkier path.
Mametesque
After the intermission there's "The Mamet Women," in which Sally (Winifred Boyd) and Polly (Sharilyn Costello) squabble about child care in a bitchily Mametesque set-to.
The show closes with "Do Over," a bittersweet longer work that involves Lisa (Susan Novak) and Dennis (Mr. Hamlin again) in past and future lives that illuminate but cannot alter their attraction to one another.
Under Mr. Disher's lively direction, the actors all do splendidly. While it's hard to single anyone out, Ms. Flynn and Ms. David, who starred in CTC Live's "Waiting in the Wings," among many other local productions, deserve special mention.
Ms. Boyd and Mr. Hamlin, both Southampton College graduates who appeared last fall in the Southampton Players' "Jigsaw," and Ms. Novak, who has studied at Bay Street Theatre and the New Actors Workshop in New York, also merit our praise.
And so does Chris Lombardo, who not only designed the lighting but also plays the embattled Steve in "Single and Proud."
With these seasoned and budding actors working seamlessly together, the evening moves right along, consistently entertaining and involving. It's fun to have such contemporary themes dramatized so amusingly by such a talented cast.