Volume 2, Issue 14 June 22 - July 5, 2000

Monica Bauer's musical "I Count On You" opened at the Denver Civic Theater on June 9. The performance kicked off the first leg of the Colorado Women's Playwrights Festival which provides an annual showcase of new work by regional playwrights. The musical was based on the rather formulaic plot of a woman who, while being helped through her fourth divorce by her friends, discovers that one of them has been in love with her forever. The ending is happy, sappy and quite predictable.

What the plot lacks the dialogue doesn't exactly make up for. Viewers will find no deep meaning, no double entendre, no poetics, or any other literary devices worth mentioning. In fact, I found it amazing that I counted a mere two metaphors throughout the entire play. One would think that during the course of a normal two-and-a-half hour dialogue, five people would naturally stumble onto substantially more metaphor and simile than that.

Although this was a mostly linear plot, there were some surrealistic and mildly experimental dream scenes and flashbacks built into it. Without a doubt, the script was at its strongest when it was at its least linear, and in truth not only the writing, but the characterizations and performances gained momentum during these segments. These departures were highlighted by strong acting and stage direction which brought he stage to life through lighting, imaginary set elements, multiple action, overlapping mis-en-scenes, and characters obviously in conflict with each other and themselves. I would have loved to have seen the same energy and wit throughout the play.

Otherwise, direction could be classified as stable except for the use of one of my least favorite directorial techniques, that being the placement of actors with their backs to the audience. I must stamp my critical feet a little here, and state that there is no reason for such blatant abuse of actor's best tools and talents. Nor is there any reason to believe that when audiences pay $15 per ticket they will appreciate the artistic value of trying to decipher the expressions, mood, hand movements and innuendo made by an actor or actress when all they can see is his or her backside. For the few directors out there that think this works, let me tell you plainly it doesn't. Kindly find another way to impose your artistic mark on the audience.

Conversely, musical direction of this play was outstanding. The timing, pace and staging of the musical numbers: particularly the duets: was strong enough to lend emotional impact and sensitivity to lyrics which, like the dialogue, were otherwise somewhat flat. Add to that the presence of the five vocally adept cast members and fortunately, the script finds the final salvation needed to get an endorsement from me. While "I Count On You" is not a must see, Bauer is a Denver playwright, and as such she gains my support. Do be sure to catch program two of the Y2K Colorado Women Playwrights Festival, which is not a musical, and which is forecast to be more experimental and contemporary in nature than program one.

Y2K Colorado Women Playwrights Festival
"I Count On You": June 9-18
"Fannies Girls/Coriolus Force": June 24
Shows 8 p.m. Fri., Sat., 7 p.m. Sun
Denver Civic Theatre
721 Santa Fe Dr.
303-595-3800

Experimental comedy finds its home at the Bovine Metropolis Theater (formerly The Changing Scene). The ACME Comedy Players stage an open-ended run of "The Confession Stand." The title gives a little insight into the motivation behind the comic revue. "Confession Stand" plays like a string of unrelated true confessions that become woven together during the conclusion of the revue.

The opening of the show is an energetic rap/improv style introduction of the characters. The segment gives key insights into the satirical characters presented during the revue, but it is only later that the audience understands the inferences made during the opening number. This opening segment, like the rest of the performance is wittily written and entertaining.

The second scene puts the audience inside the head of a middle-school Math teacher who is dying to ask out the sweet-faced resident English teacher. Trite material to be sure, but the comedy blossoms as this predictable plot is overcome by the hero's on stage lapses into his Walter Middy psychic underground. The audience is effortlessly brought into the interior of the Math teacher's delusional psyche via plain good acting, outstanding direction and lighting. The effectiveness of this bit is skyrocketed by Eric Mather's electric ability to change characters mid-leap, holding the audiences close attention with perfectly timed execution and completely natural transitions as he moves from Math teacher to James Bond, to ... well, I don't want to spoil the goods, so I'll stop there.

The pool room scene is a farcical jab at the endless portrayals of "the end of the affair." The "affair" in this case is a friendship between three men who have teamed up to play pool. The cast in this segment really hams it up to the audiences snickering approval. We've all been privy to the dramatics associated with breakups, and unless we are the ones doing the breaking, we all have held back the urge to roll our eyes and shout "Get over it!" The pool room players get the audience in touch with that same sense of exasperation and help them to laugh at it.

Maxine is a suicide prevention worker who only gets mis-dials, Spleef is a wandering white wanna-be Rastafarian who says the bumper stickers on his Range Rover prove his commitment to Rasta. There is a Rodeo clown who hates the word clown and cops an attitude whenever he hears it and then there's a morose little bit about poor Joey's dad who is way beyond twisted in efforts to entertain at his son's birthday party.

Even amongst all these and other comic jewels, there are two stand-out acts. AC Jacobson III, a back-woods fallen demi-hero accused of cheating in the local croquet tournament. Once again, Eric Mather gives an outstanding performance in this tragic sports melodrama spoof.

Jennefer Morris is sinisterly absurd in her characterization of a preacher's wife (Methodist I'd bet) who at last discovers her sexuality with the aid of an electric ice-cream scooper. Morris' character puts the 'fun' back into fundamentalism as she slinks around the stage with an ironically sensual Valium smile.

"The Confession Stand" is a smartly written, professional production that, although well rehearsed and flawlessly executed, loses none of the spontaneity for which the improv style of comedy has become famous. This is a sound and witty show from a gifted group of comedic actors. It runs weekly at the Bovine Metropolis Theater.

"The Confession Stand"
Thurs, Fri, Sat, 8 p.m.
Bovine Metropolis Theater
1527 Champa Street
303-758-4722