Friday, July 17, 2009

Somewhere In Texas

Tonight I saw the opening night of Somewhere In Texas at The Dream Theatre Company.

If was funny, disturbing, and never for a second was I bored.

It's a collection of six short plays from the mind of Jeremy Menekseoglu, and he always pulls you into these characters of his, these living, breathing, striving people who are trying to make their way through their confusing lives.

Several of the plays focused on the power of raw desire and the odd ways it comes out in behavior.

Jeremy himself was awesome in "Archives" as a young man exaggerating his standing as an adult film maker. You know what he's doing is wrong, but you also know that his ultimate punishment is horribly unfair.

Anna Weiler was sizzling hot in "A Boy And His Elephant".

Kathleen Cawthon was heartbreakingly sweet as a very naive young woman who has decided to have sex for the first time, but is excruciatingly unsure how to go about it.

I could go on and on about the great performances, particularly because there were so many actors and actresses.

The staging was hopelessly clever, including an actual swimming pool full of water. And wait till you see what the marshmallows are for.

One special pleasure was watching Danielle Gennaoui and Tom McGrath, who were the romantic leads in my play, appear with each other again but with quite different selves. Here they are in character for "Mandy":


The battle of the sexes
continues somewhere in Texas.

UPDATE: The production makes the prestigious Chicago Reader's Critic's Choice List!

Here is Tony Adler's insightful review.

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