Terrific tidbits

2nd Story's stimulating Short stuff

by Johnette Rodriguez

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE. Featuring Judgment Call, by Frederick Stoppel; You Can't Trust the Male, by Randy Noojin; The Spirit Is Willing, by Nicole B. Quinn; Midnight Rodeo, by Mary Sue Price; and Duet for Dog and Bear, by Sybil Rosen. Directed by Pat Hegnauer. With Bill Dunn, James Pope, Stephen Palmer, Alyn Carlson-Webster, Katherine Sheridan, Rae Mancini, Lisa Levesque, Glenn Brown, and Angela Brayman. At NewGate Theatre through December 13. At St. Andrew's School, Barrington, November 27 and 28; a new program will run December 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m.

Pat Hegnauer has a knack for finding terrific one-act plays and juxtaposing them into showcases that flow from hilarity to solemnity and back again. In the reincarnated 2nd Story Theatre at St. Andrew's School, she is directing two showcases of short plays, each running two weekends.

If last week's first showcase is an indication of the talent Hegnauer is working with and her skill at molding that talent, you should run, not walk, to see these plays. They have more drama than any action flick, more laughs than any sitcom. From sports fans to animal rights activities, there is definitely something for everyone.

Judgment Call, by Frederick Stoppel, features Bill Dunn as Harvey, voted #2 umpire in Baseball Digest, James Pope as his sidekick Frank, an up-and-comer, and Angela Brayman as Jo, Harvey's protege, or, as he calls her: "da kid." The three stride onto the stage practicing their calls -- "Stree-ike three!" "Safe!" "You're out!" -- and flexing their positions, feet lunging to one side, arms swinging into some sacred semaphore.

In the gum-cracking dialogue that follows, whole lives unfold -- divorce for Harvey, guilt for Frank, blind devotion for Jo. Within the space of 15 minutes, characters are drawn (with a great deal of humor); life decisions are laid out, dissected and moved past; and a re-bonding of these three is accomplished. The actors are great at keeping the pace moving, the lines rolling and at making their characters totally believable.

Up next is another comic sketch with a serious undertone and a romantic twist: You Can't Trust the Male, by Randy Noojin. Stephen Palmer plays the reticent Harvey and Alyn Carlson-Webster the brash Laura, who meet at an evening Spanish class that has been cancelled, unbeknownst to the two of them (or at least one of them). In a black miniskirt with net stockings, a vivid blue satin blouse, gold quilted coat, spike-heeled boots and high hair, Carlson-Webster is an absolute stitch. Titters creep through the audience at her heavy Rhode Island accent, and she brings down the house with her "notfanuttin." Palmer holds his own with his nerdy gestures and revelations of bad mailman behavior. This one's an absolute hoot.

The next two shorts are much more serious, though the first, The Spirit is Willing, by Nicole B. Quinn, tries for a satiric tone. Two attendees at a New Age convention -- psychiatrist Barbara (Katherine Sheridan) and card-reader Johanna (Rae Mancini) -- realize that they went to high school together, and their shared memories begin to spill out. Barbara had been recording skeptical impressions of the conference presenters, but after a full-blown channeling of her grandmother by Johanna, she realizes she might need to reconsider her opinions. Iconoclast Johanna forces the staid Barbara to re-think many things, and both actors are skillful at etching out these two characters.

Much starker are the Shepardian couple in Mary Sue Price's Midnight Rodeo, given exceptional portrayals by Lisa Levesque as Cindy and Glenn Brown as Bo. Seated at their kitchen table, somewhere on the Western plains, Bo and Cindy have talked all night without saying what's really in their hearts. Now the sun is coming up, and decisions about their economic and emotional future together, as well as Cindy's future as a champion rider, weigh heavy on their shoulders. This one's a stunning vignette, with layer after layer of dreams and hopes and heartache.

The final short play is completely over the top. Sybil Rosen's Duet for Dog and Bear is a very funny send-up of humankind's relationship to animals or, more precisely, of animals' relationship to humans. For both the treed bear (Alyn Carlson-Webster, hanging on to her Cranston whine) and the yipping chihuahua (Angela Brayman has an endearing Mexican accent) speak (though the humans don't understand their language). The actor-animals deftly convey their personalities and their puzzlement over the humans who arrive to deal with them: a conservation officer (Bill Dunn), who plans to tranquilize the bear and transport her to a nearby mountain -- she is pleased with the idea -- and the Russian beauty-shop operator who "owns" Chiquita (Rae Mancini) and has come to take her home.

Short Attention Span Theatre would be a great bargain at any price, but for a fiver, it's a must!

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The 2nd act

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