Summer Shorts Series A

B+

The 11th edition of the Festival of New American Short Plays is now onstage at 59E59 Theater.  

Summer Shorts Series A opens with Melissa Ross’s (Of Good Stock) two-hander Jack, about a divorced couple George (Quincy Dunn-Baker; The End of Longing and By the Water) and Maggie (Claire Karpen; The Heir Apparent), whose bickering over the loss of their beloved dog Jack reflects their difficultly in finding closure. It’s funny, touching and wise. Mimi O’Donnell's direction finds all the right notes.

Next up is Playing God, an extended sketch by Alan Zweibel (SNL and Curb Your Enthusiasm) in which God (Bill Buell; Rancho Viejo) and his acerbic assistant (Welker White) teach a lesson to the self-satisfied Dr. Fisher (Dana Watkins), an obstetrician whose vacation dates take priority over his patient Barbara’s (Flora Diaz) due date. It’s funny but slight. Maria Mileaf’s direction finds all the laughs.

The evening’s finale, Acolyte by Graham Moore (The Imitation Game), is based on an episode in the life of Ayn Rand. Rand (Orlagh Cassidy) and her boozy husband Frank O’Connor (Ted Koch) are hosting Nathaniel (Sam Lilja) and Barbara (Bronte England-Nelson), a young married couple, Rand disciples who have been admitted to her inner circle. The conversation ranges from Plato to Aristotle to Rand’s Objectivism, a philosophy that placed a high value on pursuing one’s self-interest. Rand puts her philosophy into practice and cleverly manipulates those around her to get their blessing for her to do exactly what she wants. It’s clever and smart, but devotes too much time to a long but interesting monologue by Rand. Alexander Dinelaris (screenwriter of Birdman) directs with assurance.

All three plays are well-cast. Dunn-Baker, Cassidy and England-Nelson were especially good. Rebecca Lord-Surratt’s simple set makes effective use of shoji screens. Amy Sutton’s costume designs, especially the period attire for Acolyte, are quite good. Sound designer Nick Moore does wonders for a squash game in Playing God.

All in all, it was a satisfying evening and a big improvement over last year’s edition. Running time: 90 minutes; no intermission.

Summer Shorts - Series B *** B

The tepid program offered by Series A of this year’s Summer Shorts festival at 59E59 Theater is partially redeemed by the three plays in Series B.

“Black Flag” by Idris Goodwin presents two freshman roommates meeting for the first time after a summer of online contact. Sydney (Francesca Carpanini) is from Georgia and Deja (Suzette Azariah Gunn) is from Detroit. Things get off to a bad start when Sydney hangs a Confederate flag over her bed, heedless of how it might affect her black roommate. Sydney regards it as a symbol of Southern pride given to her by her mother to remind her of her roots. Deja is reluctant to make a fuss and tries not to be provoked. Her Japanese-American boyfriend Harry (Ruy Iskandar) is less forbearing. The play ends on an ambiguous but satisfying note. The situation is a bit contrived and the scene with the boyfriend seemed false, but I credit the playwright for taking on a timely topic and giving it a nuanced presentation. The actors were convincing and the direction by Logan Vaughn was unfussy. 

“Queen” by Alexander Dinelaris (“On Your Feet” and “Birdman”) was inspired by the Gabriel Garcia Marquez story “The Woman Who Came at Six O’Clock.” Queen (Casandera M. I. Lollar) is a world-weary hooker who shows up every day at six at the restaurant owned by Joe (Saverio Tuzzolo), a bachelor who has loved her unrequitedly for years and treats to to drinks and supper every night. On this day, Queen is quite agitated when she arrives and asks Joe, who is famous for his honesty, to lie for her. When a detective Chris McFarland) arrives and asks about Queen, Joe is put to the test. I thought Ms. Lollar looked too young and pretty to be convincing as Queen. Director Victor Slezak let the play overheat at times.

The evening’s most theatrical and most ambitious work is “The Dark Clothes of Night” by Richard Alfredo, an affectionate send-up of film noir and those who love it too much. Much is demanded of its three fine actors, who excel in the 13 roles they play. Dana Watkins is both Rob, a film professor in a failing marriage, and Burke, a sleuth with an attraction to femmes fatales. Sinem Meltem Dogan is wonderful as his wife Sylvie; an annoying student Emily; a nurse; Delilah Twain, the rich beautiful widow who hires Burke, and Delia, her younger sister. James Rees is a delight as Rob’s academic colleague Barry, a detective, the sisters’ dotty father, a wacky couples therapist and an evil doctor. The dialogue is archly hilarious. The production is greatly enhanced by projections by Daniel Mueller that evoke the noir milieu. The play falters a bit in its final moments, but not enough to dampen one’s enjoyment of an extremely clever work. The multitalented Alesander Dinelaris directed.

For the other productions credits, please see my review of Series A.