|
L.A. WEEKLY
Fourth wall? These
two one-acts smash right through it by introducing their characters with a
series of smart monologues. When the playwrights repair the wall by having
their people bicker, kiss and analyze each other, however, the plays lose
their authority. In Steven A. Lyons' cute Peaches en Regalia, a
chipper naif named Peaches (Elizabeth Schmidt) is inspired to become a
waitress by her diner's signature dessert — a concoction of canned fruit,
iceberg lettuce, cottage cheese and paprika — four oddities seeking
cohesion, not unlike Peaches and her and fellow patrons, Sasha Harris,
David Nett and Edmund Wyson. More twisty is Scott Stein's Scott Stein's
First Play: A New Play by Scott Stein, in which the narrator, Scott
Stein (David LM McIntyre), attempts to wrest control of his memories from
the other Scott Steins and associates (Mark Charron, Karen Corona, Julia
Griswold, Michael Holmes, Laura Napoli, Andrew Thacher and Thesy Surface),
only to recognize the impossibility of knowing yourself when you can't
even remember everything you did last month. Directed by Duane Daniels,
it's a nicely staged gem of philosophy that would be twice as strong at
half the length.
--Amy Nicholson
© 2008 L.A. Weekly
[ Buy Tickets Now! } |
|
L.A. STAGESCENE
Puttin’ On The Fritz,
now playing off-nights at Sacred Fools, is a pair of new one-acts which
premiered at the Fritz Blitz of New Plays at San Diego’s Fritz Theater.
PEACHES EN REGALIA
Thumbs up for the first of the two, which not surprisingly won the Best of
the Blitz Award in 2005. Peaches En Regalia is a very funny, cleverly
constructed, and original short comedy which Duane Daniels has directed
with flair.
Peaches En Regalia (the menu item) is, for those like myself unaware of
its existence, a “cross between a dessert and a side dish” which consists
of a half peach on a bed of lettuce, filled with cottage cheese, and
topped with a cherry.
Peaches En Reaglia (the play) begins with an extended monolog given by a
young waitress named, it just so happens, Peaches (a very perky Elizabeth
Schmidt). Peaches (the waitress, not the fruit)’s favorite restaurant
happens to be Doug’s Diner, so when her college business prof invited her
out on a date, it made total sense to her to have dinner there, and not at
some fancy French restaurant. Naďve Peaches only realized that it was a
date, and not a student-teacher conference, when he tried to kiss her
goodnight. Fortunately, in a bit of quick thinking, she pretended that his
attempt at a kiss was a sneeze, told him “Bless you,” and that was the end
of that. The one good thing that came out of this date was Peaches’
decision to stop working at Merril Lynch and take a job at Doug’s Diner,
and that’s when she accidentally spilled Peaches En Regalia on a
customer’s lap. (Oh, Peaches’ theory that all contemporary history can be
linked to fluctuations in gas prices is mentioned somewhere along the way
and should not be forgotten, because it comes up later in the play.)
In a second monolog, we meet Norman (David Nett in a comedic tour de force
as the nerd to end all nerds). Pathologically (and hysterically) shy
Norman has lately taken to reading self-help books to cure himself of his
timidity. “I have been practicing social banter,” he tells us excitedly,
and just as seriously, informs us that “I am practicing acting secure by
learning to wink as a form of communication.” He’s also taking a Time
Management class, learning skills which he practices while waiting behind
another man in line for a restroom stall in Doug’s Diner, where Peaches
has spilled Peaches (En Regalia) on his trousers. How exactly does he
practice time management? Why by practicing winking in the restroom
mirror. When another Doug’s Diner customer fails to “respect the circle of
trust” by dashing ahead of the two men in line and taking a stall which,
unbeknownst to the two men, was empty all along, Doug explodes and a new
man is born.
Monolog # 3 is by Joanne (a funny Sasha Harris), Peaches’ friend from
work, a woman as in love with flow charts as she is with angora sweaters.
In her flow charts, Joanne has her life all planned ahead of her. Trouble
is, she’s hit 35, and that’s when her flow charts all lead to her being
married, which she’s not. But then she meets a man in a Chinese hand
laundry (an event that wasn’t even a box on her flow charts!) who’s
brought in a stained pair of trousers, and the stain just happens to have
been made by…
And this is where Peaches En Regalia becomes a real honest-to-goodness
play, with characters who actually interact with each other. A fourth
character, Syd (a very good Edmund Wyson), arrives at Doug’s Diner in the
mood for a tasty dessert, and though Peaches En Regalia sounds like “just
peaches with cheese on top,” on Peaches’ urging, he decides to give it a
try.
Peaches, Norman, Joanne, and Syd all get together in a delicious finale
involving Joanne’s “Jasmine Panties Theory of Love,” the discovery that
certain characters have already met, and a surprise double twist that
gives all four characters, and the audience, a happy ending as scrumptious
as Peaches En Regalia.
SCOTT STEIN’S FIRST PLAY: A NEW PLAY BY SCOTT STEIN
The second play, also directed by Daniels, is entitled Scott Stein’s First
Play: A New Play by Scott Stein, by Scott Stein. It is very avant garde
and those who are not fans of this genre will find themselves bewildered.
Five actors play Scott Stein, or at least someone named Scott Stein. One
of these Scott Steins is the narrator, who gradually loses control of his
narrative as another of the Scott Steins talks about being present for the
Cultural Revolution in China (which was before the real (?) Scott Stein’s
time), and there’s something about 10-year-old hooker and her pimp, and a
3 hour musical about Friar Tuck. Confused? On the plus side, there is some
very unusual lighting by Christopher Gyre (including scenes lit entirely
in blue and others lit by the actors holding flashlights). The cast of
eight (Mark Charron, Karen Corona, Julia Griswold, Michael Holmes, David
LM Mcintyre, Laura Napoli, Andrew Thacher & Thesy Surface) do earnest
work.
--Steven Stanley
© 2008
L.A. StageScene
[ Buy Tickets Now! } |
