Scot Moore, Neil Matthew Schneider, Rachel Flynn and Mame Pelletier in Table 12
For its premiere production, Freshwater Theatre remounts two (successful) comedies from the Fringe Festival: Table 12, A Play At A Wedding and An Adult Evening Of Shel Silverstein (Freshwater Theatre performing at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage, Franklin and Lyndale, through Nov 21).
In Table 12 a half dozen strangers find themselves occupying a table in the far reaches of a large wedding: Christophe and Leroylyn, makers of religiously themed gourds; Charlie, fiery-eyed, disheveled and angry; dyspeptic Amy who’s been stood up by her blind date (at a wedding!); Maeve and Saul, the two “normals” (though they do drink prodigious amounts of alcohol); the Other Guy, who steals everything he can put his hands on; and the Waiter who shamelessly serves the dreadful food and keeps the volatile Charlie on a tight leash. These shaggy characters drink, talk, strut about, then drink some more. The bons mots fly: “She’s way more psycho than I am,” asserts Charlie, “just ask her invisible boyfriend.”
Many of the plot threads – e.g., the hooking up of Charlie and Amy – strain credulity, but playwright Ruth Virkus isn’t going for story logic. She’s creating a playground for actors and in this she succeeds admirably. Everyone does well, but I was particularly taken with Scot Moore as Charlie, Mame Pelletier as Amy and Neil Matthew Schneider as the Waiter.
The collection of short shorts by the late great Shel Silverstein is performed by two actors only: Lacey Piotter and John T. Zeiler. These pieces are less overtly comic and often display a malicious edge: is this really a sales pitch from a slave dealer? Is he really going to find a hundred synonyms for breasts and penis? The answer, scarily, is yes. Silverstein’s writing reveals a unique creepiness, one reason these plays are so often produced.
Ms. Piotter is lovely, with a plentiful reserves of charm and energy, but the star of these plays – indeed, of the whole evening – is the quirky and charismatic Zeiler. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Nervous, funny and nasty at the same time. Terrific.
As a responsible reviewer, I should mention that the Silverstein plays contain a brief episode of nudity. It’s perfectly logical and performed with smiling verve – in case anyone might be offended.
Frothy stuff, to be sure, but a case could be made that these plays work even better in blustery chill of November than in the sultry August heat of the Fringe; they provide an antidote to the weather.
For more information about John Olive, please go to his website.