One-Act Festival
((Beverly Hills Playhouse: 99 seats; $ 20 top))
The Theatre Group, in association with Camelot Artists, presents an evening of one acts. (Red Series) "Rome" by Clint Lien, directed by Tim Silver; "Choices" by MichaeOrfanos, directed by Lisa Prescia; "Gransky" by Rebecca Greene, directed by Jocelyn Jones; "Clark Vs. Cochran" by David Alexander, directed by Sabrina Bertacinni; "Lullaby Lady" by Phina Oruche, directed by Richard Lawson; "Getting Better All the Time" by Doug Spearman; and "Cafe Limbo" by Nic Greene & Pamela Creighton, directed by Mark Greenberg. Executive producer ,Gloria Gilford; producer, Colleen Coombs; co-producers, Matthew J. Chaffee & Samuel Bliss Cooper. Lighting design, David Bowers & David Richardson. Opened Nov. 1, 1996, reviewed Nov. 9; runs until Dec. 29. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes. Casts: "Rome," David Shackleford, John Mariano, Jeff Corbett; "Choices, " Diedre Holder, Jennifer Snipstad; "Gransky," Rebecca Rothstein, Marlena; "Clark Vs. Cochran," G. David Gifford, Stacy Rukeyser; "Lullaby Lady," Marcos Questas, Lia Chapman; "Getting Better All the Time," Jay Huguley, Al Sapienza; "Cafe Limbo," Theodore Firestone, Jeff Seal, Lorie Collins, Will Potter, Isa Totah. There is a great deal of sexual energy running through most of the original seven one-act plays being presented by the Theatre Group, a company comprising professional students of Beverly Hills Playhouse artistic director Milton Katselas. In three of the plays, copulation is an integral part of the action and in two others, it is talked about a lot. Most of the minidramas have a "work in progress" feel to the writing and the performances, but Doug Spearman's "Getting Better All the Time" and Clint Lien's "Rome" are little gems. "Getting Better," directed by Lien, features an inspired performance by Jay Huguley as Pete, an attractive, outgoing, hospital bed-bound yuppie homosexual who has recently awakened from a coma after surviving an auto crash. Offering a perfect counterbalance to Huguley is Al Sapienza as Pete's longtime significant other, John. The two lifemates become locked in a heartbreaking confrontation as John quietly offers the news that Pete is HIV-positive and that John knows his lover has been cheating on him throughout their relationship. Directed by Tim Silver, "Rome" is a memorable little barroom comedy, mainly due to the hilarious performances of David Shackleford as Mike the Bartender and John Mariano as the highly inebriated regular Norman. Shackleford and Mariano achieve a marvelously comedic symbioses as they endeavor to give a hopeless loser (Jeff Corbett) the courage to pursue his unrequited love to Rome. The three fornication playlets do not fare nearly as well. "Clark Vs. Cochran" offers lame sitcom dialogue as a bed becomes a battlefield between a sexually conventional husband (G. Adam Gilford) and his more adventuresome wife (Stacy Rukeyser), who wants her husband to become more "orally" committed to their lovemaking. "Lullaby Lady" is a savage ritual of sexual domination between two magnificent physical specimens, a gypsy dancer (Marcos Questas) and his lady (Lia Chapman), but their dialogue becomes so garbled within the heat of the activity that whatever plot they are trying to express is rendered indecipherable. "Cafe Limbo" is a meaningless little tale where a Wienershnitzel emporium serves as purgatory for three recently deceased Hollywood types: a record producer (Jeff Seal), his well-endowed lady (Lorie Collins) and a would-be rock star (Will Potter). Their afterlife is punctuated by a hot-dog hawker (Theodore Firestone) and the lascivious advances of a deity figure, Christ Burden (Isa Totah), who spends most of his time either simulating defecating onstage or attempting to mount Collins. The two non-sexual efforts, "Choices" and "Gransky" offer more statement than drama. Directed by Michae Orfanos, "Choices" is an intriguing "pro-choice" monologue featuring a highly humorous interplay between Diedre Holder and her luminous non-speaking "signing" counterpart, Jennifer Snipstad. "Gransky," directed Jocelyn Jones, chronicles a touching moment in the lives of an aging woman (Rebecca Rothstein) and her granddaughter (Marlena) when it becomes apparent that the girl's beloved "gransky" is a victim of Alzheimer's and will never be the person she was. The festival offers three separate evenings of original one-acts. The reviewed "Red Series" continues Nov. 17, 23, 29, Dec. 8, 13, 20, and 29. The "White Series" continues Nov. 15, 24, 30, Dec. 6, 14 and 27. The "Blue Series" continues Nov. 16, 22, Dec. 1, 7, 15, 22 and 28. Julio Martinez
