by Richard Lord

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy … Actually, for many of us in these times, the livin’ is anything but easy. Fortunately, a number of local theatre groups have mounted feel-good shows that can take our minds off the problems roiling outside and remind us that there is still a lot of joy and a lot of laughs available to us. One of these shows is the Old Academy Player’s annual Summer One-Act Bonanza in East Falls.

It should be noted that these are short one-acts. In fact, most of them qualify as sketches – longish sketches, nicely rendered, but sketches nonetheless. That allows the Old Academy team to give us seven very different pieces and gives the show’s writers, directors and cast members their opportunity to show their talents.

The show opens withShut Up and Listen, written and directed by Jerry Jennings. Rex (Chase Dannelly) is an intern at an agency or company that handles clients with problems. Rex is down to just two clients and, being an enthusiastic intern, he would dearly like more. The woman who can assign him more is Sandy (Precious Emmanuel), but Sandy is rather reluctant to give him any more clients. She will give him helpful advice, however, though Rex is puzzled about how just helpful Sandy’s advice is.

This piece is mildly amusing, and much of the amusement comes from the parrying between Rex and Sandy and the way Sandy spins language as she renders advice. The Old Academy treatment of this piece works because Chase Dannelly and Precious Emmanuel serve as good foils to each other and keep things chugging along well.

Nevertheless, Shut Up and Listen would have more punch to it if writer Jennings could tell us more about this agency the two are involved with.  Actually, this is a sketch that could profit by being expanded into a longer work where author Jennings provides more depth to his two characters and allows their project to develop more.

I had a similar feeling with the second piece, Crowbar, written by Sara Freedman and directed by Doug Tague. In this piece, Bill – an older gentleman who apparently has no remaining familial ties – arrives for Thanksgiving at the home of Riley and Jo. When Jo departs the scene to tend to the turkey, Bill and Riley engage in a conversation about a research program involving the study of crows Riley is involved in. This gets them talking about what fascinating creatures crows are, a discussion that takes a sad dip into a loss Bill has experienced.

This playlet could certainly be expanded, with what we now have serving as the opening scene in a longer one-act or even a full-length play. In fact, the ending of this version of Crowbar seems somewhat abrupt, wrapping up the piece just as it starts to be heading into more interesting territory with a deeper connection between Riley and Bill taking shape.

Jade Cox provided a precise, sympathetic performance as Riley, a young woman who comes to see more in Bill than she’d ever noticed before.  Nick Lutwyche plays Bill as someone not entirely comfortable with social engagements. This tentative approach works with the piece. However, Lutwych’s carefully restrained tone does drop off a few times into a volume too soft to hear. Laura Somogie’s character, Jo, is not given much time on stage, but Somogie does fulfill the assignment as well as can be. 

Next up in the program is Leo/Lisa written by Kathy Passero. This sketch does not leave one feeling there’s more to be explored here: it works pleasantly as it is. What it is is an amusing two-hander which imagines Lisa del Giocondo (better known as Mona Lisa) showing up for her first sitting with the master, Leonardo da Vinci.

This is a playful piece that creates little sense of the Italian Renaissance other than in its costumes. In fact, both Leonardo and, especially, Lisa act and sound like they fit much more comfortably in our present-day environment of the ardent pursuit of celebrity.

The piece is generously splattered with anachronisms, but that’s playwright Passero’s strategy and a key element of the playlet’s charm and humor. Some of the anachronisms are in language (Lisa asks Leonardo if the two of them could “hang out” together) but more important are the anachronisms involving attitude and social mores. I cannot imagine that Lisa del Giocondo was anything like the bouncy young lady we see here. Nor does this Leonardo seem like the polymath genius of the 15th century. But again, that is all almost certainly intentional.  And while this one doesn’t offer many full-throated laughs, it leaves one with a serene smile all the way through. 

Leo/Lisa is co-directed by Joan and Randy Shupp.   Both Jaideep Mujumdar, who plays Leonardo, and Regina Zeng, who serves up a hopped-up Mona Lisa do commendable work here. I do have one quibble about the staging: some of Zeng’s prancing about Leonardo’s “studio” seem gratuitous if not distracting.

The first half of the program comes to an end with Cue – an excellent strategy, as Cure is one of the two best pieces in the program.  Written by Kate Danley and directed by Marc Johnson (produced by Hannah Leifheit), Cue is a light but delightful comedy all the way through.

Gregory Lepore and Kelci Schlierf play two actors (John and Mary) in a performance as illicit lovers. At a specific cue, Mary’s cuckholded husband Tom (Matt Thompson) is supposed to break in on them while brandishing a pistol. Unfortunately, Tom keeps missing his cue, which forces Mary and John to keep repeating those lines containing Tom’s cue.

This playlet works very well because playwright Danley knows not to let a basic joke run too long (she does refresh the joke at key points), and director Johnson knows how to enable a series of humorous ideas on a page become even more humorous on the stage.

Some would say it’s easy for actors to display bad acting as part of the performance, but if the “bad acting” is not done right, it comes off as careless slapstick. Thankfully, Lepore and Schlierf hit all the notes just right, which keeps the laughs of the audience fresh. Although his main assignment is not to appear on stage, Matt Thompson’s brief appearances and his occasional braying of lines offstage make him a vital part of the comedy. Heck, even the curtain call for this piece is comic, with the three actors keeping in character for their bows.

The Old Academy program designates the two parts of this Bonanza as Act One and Act Two, though I think Stage One and Stage Two would be more appropriate.
  
Stage Two of the show opens with the second of the program’s two best playlets: Hello written by Dana Leslie Goldstein and directed by Haley Dunning (produced by Alexa Archer).

Hello is set at a senior living community where an estranged married couple – Loretta and Herman – both happen to be residents, though in different sections of the complex. Loretta is enjoying her golden years in the “independent living” section, while Herman (now confined to a wheelchair) spends much of his time brooding over in the “dependent” section.  

The comedy-drama starts when the couple’s daughter Tina drops in for one of her dutiful visits. She first goes to see her mother, then calls her father to tell him that she’ll be over to see him shortly. This unleashes a volley of recriminations between Loretta and Herman, which leads to a moving twist in their phone confrontation.

The success of this piece is in so small measure helped by three solid performances. As Herman, Clint Cleaver gives one of the best performances in the entire program, while Norma Kider’s Loretta comes off as a splendid mismatch to Cleaver’s Herman. The role of Tina does not provide Sarah Velcofsky as much opportunity to stand out as Cleaver and Kider are given, but she, too, is convincing and serves as an effective catalyst to her parents’ vexed interactions.

The playlet is well-paced (which includes psychologically well-paced, making every turn in the confrontation seem real), it also has a fair amount of good, honest laugh lines. Those laugh lines are true to characters and their tangled relationship. Though it’s not funny all the way through as is Cue, it does offer more depth to it and is clearly one or the two highlights of this year’s One-Act Bonanza. The one suggestion for improvement I would offer playwright Goldstein is to come up with a more enticing title to this skilfully composed piece.

Unboxed, written by Jean Ciampi and directed by Rachel Dalton (produced by Laura Mitchell), belongs to what we might call the writer’s-nightmare genre. The opening draws us in to what seems an amiable conversation between writer Willa and Chloé, a young French woman. They’re soon joined by Mark, who is not so amiable. We quickly suss out that Chloé and Mark are actually characters created by Willa who are not entirely happy with having their fates in the hands of Willa – Mark less so than Chloé. Willa’s editor, Hannah, soon joins the scene to stir the pot even more.

This piece has more potential than gets fulfilled in this edition. Unfortunately, Unboxed slightly loses the thread as it moves along. (It occurs shortly after editor Hannah arrives.) This is a significant problem in such a short play where tightness is a prime virtue. It doesn’t ruin the piece, but it is undeniable that Unboxed not yet as successful as it could be.

Nonetheless, Victoria Anne delivers a fine performance as Willa, while Emmie Ledesma is sympathetic as a confused young woman with an exaggerated French accent. At first, I considered the overdone French accent a minor flaw, but then came to see that it works well since Chloé is a product of Willa’s imagination and the accent seems to be a wink at Willa’s shortcomings in creating this character.

 As Mark, Elliott Rotman gives one of the most assured performances in the entire program of seven playlets. His arrival moves the piece along convincingly, making us expect more than is ultimately delivered. Jane Jennings is quite serviceable as editor Hannah, though the script doesn’t allow her to be much of a catalyst.
 

Game Night, written by Maria Riillo and directed by Kim Hess (produced by Sonya Hearn) closes out the program.  

The action of Game Night is essentially what the title says: one of the regularly staged game nights with a family and (on this occasion), the friend of a family member. The six people divide themselves up into two groups of three and then commence to playing charades. The game culminates with a surprise revelation that was intentionally held until this night, this game.

While the writing of Game Night proceeds in a sound, realistic way, the piece lacks drama, comedy and thrust. I simply didn’t see the point here. However, the cast is rather good, with Jennifer Russ the standout as the character packing the surprise. Harry Callahan, Ava Callista, Chris Cutrufello, James Hearn, Anna Kaminetz all contribute effectively to the piece with convincing performances. I felt that this was like a segment of a Seinfeld episode, entirely drained of its vitriol; it was a pleasant piece about nothing. In fact, a bit of vitriol might have actually made Game Night more appealing.

One other point worth noting: the Old Academy Players is a community theatre, not a fully professional company. While many of the performances in this show are not as polished as you’ll experience in the area’s other theatres, they’re all rather admirable considering that few of these folks are not pursuing the theatre as a career.

Also, there’s more of a we’re-all-community feel to this show. OAP people offer candies to suck on before the show and stage a raffle with a nice prize at every performance. Sarah Labov, one of the show’s executive producers, greets people as they come into the house, helping them get their seats. She also helps people with certain needs to have the most pleasant experience they can have. In addition, members of the cast chip in to make set changes (remember, there are six such changes, some of them not so easy) when they’re not in the next piece. It’s an altogether relaxed and friendly experience, which makes a visit to this One-Act Bonanza a good way to spend a mid-summer evening or afternoon.

 The Summer One-Act Bonanza runs through this coming weekend, July17, 18 and 19. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8:00 p.m., Sunday at 2:00 p.m.