The first half of St. Louis Actors' Studio's LaBute New Theater Festival is afoot - or, more accurately, astage. Six short plays, the opener being LaBute's "Kahdahar", all interesting in various ways.
"Kandahar" is a monologue about a man who seems to be being interrogated. He's clearly Done Something, and when we first hear the words, "She made me do it," we know we're in for an awful time. Michael Hogan is eerily controlled, almost no emotion, as the nameless man, and that makes it more mesmerizing.
Plots in short plays can't be very complex, and sometimes it's easy to figure out where they're going. The trick is to make them interesting anyway, and several of these manage to do that quite well. "A Taste of Heaven", for instance has a very strange civil servant, Kevin Minor, dealing with the increasingly irate Nancy Crouse. The quirks carry the day. Similarly, "Cold in Hand" pairs up a flippant teenager (Rynier Gaffney) and an elderly African-American gentleman (Don mcClendon-Razz) who finds the kid's taste for the blues interesting and, one suspects, condescending. But there is much in there that's irresistible.
Of the others, "Stand Up for Oneself" is interesting but suffers in the early going from English accents that are mumbled, so we're left wondering for a bit what's going on, although that cleared up after a few minutes. "Custom" is a gentle piece of work that's only slightly strange. But "A Stranger Here Myself" just doesn't work. It's an awkward bit of sexual fantasy that's just plain clumsy.
Five out of six, and one star player. Pretty good for the first half of a home stand.
And Saturday, July 25, at 11 a.m. is the stage readings of the high school finalists for the festival. Free, and interesting.
LaBute New Theater Festival
First half through July 19, festival through August 2
St. Louis Actors' Studio
Gaslight Theatre
Comments