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Reunion
By Jay Steigman and Jason Williams
Produced by Black Table Productions
At Stage Left Theatre
3408 N. Sheffield
Chicago, IL
Tickets: 773-531-1452 or www.blacktable@gmail.com, $15
Mon-Tue. at 8:00 p.m.
Running time is 70 minutes with no intermission
Through September 23rd
Once in a While is More Than Enough
What happens when a group of college pals get together after 9 years? Well in this reunion they discover that they no longer have very much in common and may not have liked each other all that much to begin with. The resulting disastrous little party is light entertainment that scores a few laughs thanks to a talented young cast and a smart pace. Reunion isn’t exactly high art and it isn’t likely to be a show you will be talking about for months to come, but it never bores. On opening night, even as the audience rushed to exit the muggy little theatre, there were big smiles on all faces.
Playwrights Jay Steigman (who also directs) and Jason Williams have broken no new ground with Reunion. One cannot help but think of the 80’s movie “The Big Chill,” so don’t expect any big revelations about relationships or how life’ events tame the cavalier spirit of youth. The characters are slightly different – all female – but the material is pretty much the same. And don’t expect any high-end technical support, either. It isn’t easy to create the illusion of a Junior League six-bedroom suburban home in a tiny black box space even under the best of conditions. And Stage Left is not exactly the best of conditions under which to try. What this show has is a reasonably funny script and an energetic cast of young actresses with mostly comedy and improv backgrounds who make no mistakes.
The former college pals – dubbed “married” (Kate Cohen), “single” (Noelle Schmidt), “divorced” (Kate Lambert), “slutty” (Marla Depew), and “whatever” (Monique Jazimine Thomas) in the show’s publicity – snipe through a rapid 70 minutes of punch lines, drinking games, and recriminations as the friendships unravel. Depew, as the slutty Lexy, and Thomas, as Prudence (a.k.a. Mark back when they were in college and she was a he), have the most over-the-top roles and are the most magnetic of the evenly matched ensemble. Lambert’s bitter divorcée, Karen, is the most uneven of the characters, but she also delivers the show’s most powerful emotional moments. Cohen and Schmidt are a bit more understated, but always present and each takes her moment in the spotlight. Director Steigman does not quite achieve a complete ensemble feel; Reunion’s effect is more like a series of scenes between, most frequently, two actors as the others on stage observe. The pacing is great, however, so the show never lacks energy and even if the transitions are not seamless, the catty duels are quite funny. If you are just looking for some laughs this show may be for you. You probably won’t remember it a year from now, but I cannot imagine anyone actually not liking it.
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED
Randy Hardwick
randyontheglobe@yahoo.com for commnets
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2008
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