Stage Takes

Welcome back to StageTakes of weekend 2 of the 30 Minutes or Less Festival presented by Combined Arts / Asylum Theater at the Stephanie Feury Theater in Melrose. It was a busy weekend of shows, one after the other, and I right away want to apologize to any shows that I missed. I have heard great things about all of them and I hope I will get another chance to see them. Second weekend attending shows and writing little blurbs about them.

Day 2:

Permanent Objects: Reb Powers greeted us at the door and brought her charming personality to the show as well! This was a personal show and very fun, it felt as though we were witnessing inner child work. Very spontaneous, I don’t know how much was pre-planned yet the show included tech cues. She pulled objects out of a bag, and had stories to tell about each; a simple premise yet universal and therapeutic in that she had us think about what objects define or defined us for a period of our lives. This could be a great exercise, and I would like to extend the offer to you, dear reader, to think about which objects defined you throughout your life.

The Cancer Comedy Hour: What a show! Really special one-person show created by a Lili Ignon, a two-time cancer survivor battling with the desire to live a “normal” life with the requirements expected of her by caregivers. She opened with “Don’t be afraid to laugh at the traumatic stuff” and her warm heartedness set us at ease. Excellent storytelling and fun impressions. She talked about her father sharing his history of being punk rock to her having to miss classes for treatments. She sprinkles in humor by poking fun at the disparities she faced; we may never be able to truly understand what she has gone through but she is able to make us feel a plethora in 20 minutes.

For You: Personal and powerful, a show that will widen your awareness to the experience of motherhood. I met Melissa Lugo slightly before the show and was pleased at how generous she was to myself and all of the theater patrons The show seemed very well-crafted. Lugo hit every beat on the spot. It made me wonder if a show could be over-rehearsed. As the show went on, a phone went off, shuffling ensued in the crowd, but Melissa kept going. I thought, this is polar opposite to Reb Powers’ Permanent Objects the actor knew her mark and played the sequence; different style is all. A strong show about grief, addiction, and motherhood.

Ain’t I/Ain’t It/Ain’t We: I’m getting tired now, but this really got my energy up! Latrice P. Young writes and performs in a powerful piece that questions the social structures of today. Poetry that opens the mind. She gets the audience riled up and has us singing along. I found myself waking up this morning with the groove of “Ain’t I Ain’t Us Ain’t We”.

Mise: Great energy from the young performer, Henry Tsai, who brings a range of characters and emotion to this work. “A young cook in his father’s restaurant survives the worst service of his life.” (I saw too much today, burned out).

Day 3:

Still Alive: Super interesting and brilliantly directed! An experience you rarely get on stage, parallel storylines, a live music score, a thriller that keeps you on edge. The play moves in a way that needs no explanation; everything is clear and well-constructed. Play ends with a cliffhanger and I read that this is Act 1 to a longer production, can’t wait to see where it goes.

Alligators of Malibu: Another fun show by Michael David-Kerr, who did Shame On Sundays last week. He has endless stories of hilarity. This time he spoke about being a teenager in Malibu, new kid on the block, and trying to fit in. The show takes its title from Lacoste shirts, I hope I don’t get sued for mentioning them. Great company, great shirts. I could listen to Michael’s stories all day.

Woody Allen’s Mr. Big: A staged reading that had a lot more spirit to it than I expected! Just about ready to be performed without scripts, it seemed. Good use of set and props. Brian Knusden and Catherine Allison create delightful characters and Woody Allen’s script is filled with a mix of laugh out loud comedy and philosophy references.

Top Picks: Still Alive, The Cancer Comedy Hour, Ain’t I/Ain’t It/Ain’t We