Let Us (Mostly) Praise "Summer Shorts"

Alan Zweibel’s “Pine Cone Moment” part of Summer Shorts 2013, with Cmille Saviola as Bunny, Caroline Lagerfelt as Emma, Brian Reddy as Harry, and James Murtaugh as Brian, at 59E59 Theaters through August 31. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Like with tapas, you can fill up on three short plays and walk away fully satisfied. Of course, sometimes not every dish is perfectly delicious. Having one of out 3 morsels be good is not great, but 4 out of six is just fine.

“Summer Shorts,” at 59E59 Theaters throough Augsut 31, celebrates the short form with 2 sets of one act plays by some of America’s top playwrights. From past seasons of this seven year old festival, expectations may vary. Will they be diamonds in the rough or little jewels of invention?

Leaving the best for last, let’s get Series A out of the way first. It opens with Neil La Bute’s “Good Luck (in Farsi)” which is obvious and repetitious. This is the weak sister of the programsm about back-stabbing actresses, Paige (Elizabeth Masucci) and Kate (Gia Crovatin) vying for the same role. La Bute – who also directs this playlet–  hits a satirical mark or two in the overlong short play. To be fair, La Bute has had some very successful outings with the short form at past “Summer Shorts,” but really he should have quit while he was ahead. “Good Luck (in Farsi)” is too much like a sketch and too little like a fully-developed play in miniature.

In Marian Fonatana’s “Falling Short,” Kendra Mylnechuk is Lee, Shane Patrick Kearns is Eric and Others, and JJ Kandel is Nate. Photo  by Carol Rosegg

Sarah (Marisa Viola) is both the narrator and a participant in the annoying sound-bite “About A Woman Named Sarah,” by Lucas Hnath. The play is about Palin’s selection interview with John (Mark Elliot Wilson) and Cindy (Stephanie Cannon) McCain. In it  not even Todd (Ben Vigus) wants her to run.

The best of Series A is Tina Howe’s “Breaking the Spell.” A non-fariytale, tweaking the Sleeping Beauty story, with a touch of gibberish, a little tap, a lot of music, “Breaking the Spell” is a full-on vaudeville approach to the saga of the 100-year sleep. Michael Countryman is the king sitting vigil over his daughter, Cristabel (Crystal Finn) with Poor Wretched Fool (aka PWF, Evan Shinners, who also plays other parts and piano and accordian) mad over her and doing all he can to awaken the princess. Jesse Scheinin plays the sax that fails in its attempt at “Breaking the Spell.”

“Summer Shorts 2013 Series B” proves the adage that good things come in small packages.Series B features three of rhe most enjoyable short plays. These are  about love and desolation, and each hits a different rhythm, and all three stride forward towards a revelation.

“Change” doesn’t come easy to three college pals, Ted (Alex Manette), Jordan (Michael Dempsey), and Carla (Allison Daugherty), reuniting after 20 years. Paul Weitz’ sardonic look at the ways we grow up after graduation is bitterly funny.

“Falling Short” is tender and moving. Marian Fontana’s heroine, Lee (Kendra Mylnechuk) delivers some very funny bon-mots, including her pity analysis of the writer’s plight. “It’s like having a paper due everyday of your life.” Lee’s date with the over-the-top quirky Nate (JJ Kandel) whom she met on-line is charming. Well directed by Alexander Dinelaris, the playwright of Red Dog Howls, and other works.

Alan Zweibel’s “Pine Cone Moment” is a beautiful look at how to move on. The aging protagonists, Emma (Caroline Lagerfelt) and Harry (Brian Reddy) are both haunted and encouraged by their dead spouses, Bunny (Camille Saviola) and Brian (James Murtaugh).  As Bunny did in life so, with her red dress and plus-size personality Camille Saviola steals the show. Also outstanding as the boyishly wide-eyed Harry is Brian Reddy in an exceptionally fine cast.

The acting in all the pieces, good and bad, was very good. Besides the wonderful ensemble in “Pine Cone Moment,” the nice work in “Breaking the Spell,” and “Falling Short,”Alex Manette and Allison Daugherty in “Change” also made a great impression.

The best of “Summer Shorts” are one-acts with an arc. In Series B, as a case in point, this season, there was a generously fine array of succinct dramas with finely developed characters and fleshed out plots.

For more information about “Summer Shorts 2013,” please visit http://www.summershortsfestival.com/

What’s In A Name?: "Here I Go" and "Lonely, I’m Not"

A title can inspire, amuse, mystify, engage.

“Lonely, I’m Not,” at 2econd Stage Theatre through June 3rd, truly deserves a more imaginative moniker. Playwright Paul Weitz does his fine romantic comedy a great disservice by not finding a worthier title to represent it. In fact “Lonely, I’m Not,” is arguably the best of the four Weitz plays 2econd Stage has produced.

On the other hand, the title of the performance piece at 59E59 Theaters, also playing through June 3rd, “Here I Go,”, conjures up a favorite Dolly Parton tune. “Here I Go” lives up to the promise, if not the spirit, that the tune inspires.

Heather (Olivia Thirlby) on a date with Porter (Topher Grace) in Paul Weitz’s “Lonely, I’m Not.” Photo © Joan Marcus.

The hooks in Dolly Parton’s songs are so catchy and bouncy that it’s hard to imagine them as a soundtrack for heartbreak, but in “Here I Go,” Lynette, widowed at 60 (Natalie Leonard), not only has lost her husband but also had lost touch with her family.

Gates Loren Leonard, Michael Howell, Natalie Leonard in “Here I Go.” Photo © Corey Torpie.

“Here I Go” is a very engaging silent show, with a musical soundtrack, some of it live (Lynette at 16, Mariah Iliardi-Lowy, sings as does Michael Howell, billed as The Man) and a voice over narration (voiced by Julie Nelson.) Written by David Todd, “Here I Go” is a stylized performance conceived by Luke Leonard, who also directs, and set to Western sounds (designed by Michael Howell.)

In “Here I Go,” Lynette revisits the highlights and low points of her life as a cowgirl, bringing to life her younger selves (along with her at 16 years old; at 8, Gates Loren Leonard; at 26, Jessica Pohlman).

Jessica Pohlman and Michael Howell in “Here I Go.” Photo © Corey Torpie.

“All I ever wanted was a few moments to myself, just to think….” Lynette says. “And then I’d put on my music and it would sound so sweet, because I had you and I had them…. But when you take it all away… the music just doesn’t do it anymore.”

In “Lonely, I’m Not,” Porter (Topher Grace), still reeling from his divorce three years ago, has also fallen on hard times. Once he was a high-powered, hard-driving success. His father, Rick (Mark Blum), a con artist, still thinks of him as a soft touch, although he is running low on funds.

Little Dog (Christopher Jackson) with Porter (Topher Grace) in Paul Weitz’s “Lonely, I’m Not.” Photo © Joan Marcus.