|
Regional Reviews: San Francisco Mud Blue Sky Also see Richard's reviews of Eurydice and The Country House
According to these characters the skies are not so friendly. Beth has come into her hotel room completely exhausted and suffering from severe back pain. The only thing that relieves the pain is pot, so Jonathan comes to her room. Jonathan is wearing a tuxedo—it seems that this is also high school senior prom night and his date has ditched him. How it all started, with Jonathan as Beth's pot dealer, is really a complicated matter so you will just have to see this production. However, she does have maternal feelings for the lad. Sam, short for Samantha, is a free spirit and Beth's coworker, and her ever-present smart phone ties her to her teenage son who sends many texts about broken dishwashers and melted forks. Rounding out the cast we have Angie, who takes care of her ailing mother and deals with the disappointment of divorce. If you think this sounds like a set-up for a TV sitcom, you're right, since the 31-year-old playwright is trying her hand at TV writing. However, this is good old fashioned theatre and it has structural solidity, but could also make for a pilot for a series on network or cable. What happens to this young man and three women, I won't tell. There is a lot of amusing spin on topics such as parenting, pot, porn, early retirement, rude passengers, disgusting messes in the lavatory, seatback pocket discoveries, and walking backwards behind the beverage cart. It's a fun and entertainment evening on the three-sided stage of the Aurora Theatre. All actors give resilient and very convincing performances. Jamie Jones is terrific as the burned out Beth. She displays effectively how a flight attendant would be after 12 or more hours on a plane. Rebecca Dines is pitch perfect as the free-spirited Sam who shows concern about her 17-year-old son who is constantly texting her about inane subjects. Laura Jane Bailey, who enters the play a little later, is excellent in the role of Angie, who gives a beautiful self-pitying monologue about loneliness and euthanasia. Devin S. O'Brien rocks as the frustrated young man who has just lost his date. He skillfully gives Jonathan the right amount of teenage ungainliness and thoughtfulness to generate motherly concern from the three women thrice his age. Tom Ross directs this entertaining piece with a sure hand. He has the actors moving through their paces with keen attention to timing and nuances as the action unfolds on Kate Boyd's excellent hotel room set. Kurt Landisman's lighting is bright and pleasant and costume designer Cassandra Carpenter's outfits are perfect for the group. Mud Blue Sky plays through September 27th, 2015, at the Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley. For tickets please call 510-843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org. Coming up next is Amy Freed's The Monster-Builder opening on November 6 and running through December 6th.
|
