Theater Review: Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help

                       Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help

The program tells you to picture the early 1970s “in a city very much like Seattle, or Boston, or Milwaukee or Cincinnati or….”

I can’t even come close to that, since in the ‘70s I was living on my own and working at a school in Rome, far from home in San Diego.

But let that be. Katie Forgette’s “Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help” takes place in and around the kitchen of mom Jo O’Shea (Erin Noel Grennan), a devout Catholic housewife who pretty much just does the mom thing.

 

Daughter Linda (Samantha Gorjanc) does stand-up and tells much of the story of this Catholic family. She is 19 and on the way to graduate school, but meantime does stand-up in this crazy family as she tells the story. She is interested in the fledgling women’s movement.

Another family member is Linda’s sister Becky (Abbi Hoffpauir), who at 13 has a fondness for trench coats and (apparently) Philip Marlowe. 

There’s a whole long bit about menstruation (because of Becky) that goes on rather too long for my taste, but it’s amusing.

The person who really gets the laughs is the sardonic Aunt Terri (Shana Wride). She makes the show, in my opinion.

Then there’s dad Mike O’Shea (Tom Dugan, who also plays two other roles). Mike seems to live upstairs, but he sure can talk loud. He also plays the priest Father Lovett and does a hilarious stint as “Betty Heckenbach”), apparently just here for looks and laughs. Grandma (unlisted and unseen) also seems to live upstairs. 

The drama arises from an illicit recording made by Becky and heard by Dugan as the priest Father Peter (get it?)

In the second act, things get more serious as conflicts come to a head, especially between Aunt Terri and Father Peter (also Dugan).

It’s a busy script that goes by in a huge hurry. You may get lost a time or two (I did), but the point seems to be comedy, not plot, and much of what happens is just plain funny. Bravo to director Jenny Sullivan for keeping it all together.

Kudos also to Elisa Benzoni for the just-right costumes and Marty Burnett, whose set makes the show look right for the ‘70s.

This is almost unusual play. If you’re in the mood for something different, you might try this one. 

The details

“Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help" plays through November 24, 2024 at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach.

Shows Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. Added matinee Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: (858) 481-1055 or boxoffice.northcoastrep.org

Theater Review: Looped

 

                
                     Eileen Bowman & Alex Guzman in "Looped"

There are stars in the heavens and stars in Hollywood. In the latter category, several stand out. 

At Scripps Ranch Theatre, Director Phil Johnson gives us a play called “Looped,” about that loony star Talullah Bankhead. I don’t pretend to know anything about her, but Johnson’s Roustabouts Theater Co. gives us an evening of goofiness with Eileen Bowman as Talullah.

The play is structured around three people – Talullah and film editor Danny (played by Alex Guzman), seen onstage, and Steve (Chris Braden), an unseen voice from the control booth. Bowman wants to do whatever she wants, while Guzman the film editor needs to get his project done as quickly as possible.

Much of the first act consists of Talullah and her demands, uttering amusing lines like “I’m bisexual. Buy me something and I’ll be sexual.” But Steve also gets a call he does not like just before the act ends.

In Act Two, Talullah and Danny get closer as Danny fears he will lose his job and Talullah discloses that she once got gonorrhea from Gary Cooper. In this act, she talks of getting emphysema. 

And Danny tells about a guy he once fell in love with and the problems this caused him.

Between them, there is talk of bisexualilty, gonorrhea, emphysema and other unpleasantness.

“I don’t mind dying,” Talullah says. “I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Danny counters “You’re Blanche du Bois.”

Talullah advises Danny to “take a trip. Take a lover. Make a choice.” 

“Looped” is a strange piece of theater, unlike anything I’ve seen. Fortunately, the fine cast and good direction make it work, though if you’re like me, you’ll get into your car with your head reeling from what you’ve just seen.

Bravi tutti.

“Looped” runs through October 20. Evening shows Oct. 17-19 at 7:30 p.m.;

 2 p.m. matinees Oct. 19 and 20.

For tickets: https://www.theroustabouts.org/loopedtix

Theater Review: The Importance of Being Earnest

Theater is a strange place, but even there it doesn’t pay to be gay or to try to throw rotten vegetables at your lover after the performance of a play.

Even worse – if you’re playwright Oscar Wilde and the year is 1895, you just might be (as Wilde was) imprisoned for being something much worse: gay.

But ah, his play “The Importance of Being Earnest” has delighted playgoers ever since.

Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado shows you how in the show that has been running successfully since Sept. 21, but I just managed to get there to see it a few days ago.

You probably know the story, or should I say craziness that reigns during this “trivial comedy for serious people,” as the subtitle has it.

Lamb’s Players is one of the best of San Diego theaters, and they always manage to get the right people for their shows. This production is no exception.

There are several men here, some looking for a lover or future mate, and likewise several young women looking for the same thing. One in particular – Lady Bracknell – is customarily played by a woman. But here it’s everybody’s favorite comic, David McBean, wearing an outrageous costume who not only looks outrageous but will make you guffaw many times.

That’s not to ignore or disparage the other characters – Geno Carr (Merriman), Michael Louis Cusimano (Algernon Moncrieff), Brian Mackey (Jack Worthing) and Lauren King Thompson as the lovely Cecily Cardew.

Nor can I ignore smaller roles, equally wonderfully played: John Rosen as Lane the butler, Brian Salmon a the Chasuble, the redoubtable Deborah Gilmour Smyth as the hilarious Miss Prism and Rachael Van Wormer as Gwendolen Fairfax.

It’s great fun just watching these characters pretend to be wonderful (or at least other and more important than they really are), and also to hear Algernon Moncrieff’s “whimsical interpretation” of Frédéric Chopin’s masterpieces penned by Ben Read.

Kudos also to set designer Sean Fanning, lighting designer Nathan Peirson, costume designer Jeanne Reith, props designer Jessica Couto and sound designers Ben Read and Patrick Duffy.

This show looks, sounds and let’s face it, IS a lovely evening’s entertainment. Don’t miss it.