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Published: July 8, 2006
Edition: METRO
Section: NEWS
Page#: 2B
For most part, playlets as lost as relationships
REVIEW: With two notable exceptions, this collection of 10-minute plays on love themes never finds its legs.
By Graydon Royce Staff Writer
The Original Theatre Company, a creation of Minneapolis actor
Patrick Coyle, has lashed together six 10-minute plays in an uneven
meditation on relationships. Playing through July at Bryant Lake Bowl,
"Love, Laundry & Theoretical Physics" needed more time in
rehearsal, more attention to critical moments and more energy.
As curator and director, Coyle did well in arranging the
pieces - finding the slight arc of discovery, departure, fragility and
secretiveness that go into amorous relationships. Only two of the
playlets, though, linger in the memory for what they have to say. In
"Ignition Switch," Sam Post, a North Carolina playwright,
offers a lovely and bittersweet look at two souls trying to fix their
broken hearts. Within the metaphorical crucible of an auto repair shop,
Coyle and Helen Chorolec feel their way through the pain of a woman
dropping off her balky car on the eve of leaving her husband. It is a
nuanced and sensitive piece of work by both actors.The second
item that rises above the others is "Little Death of a Salesman," by
Chicago writer Sheri Wilner. Again, Coyle and Chorolec clip through
this short vignette seen through the eyes of Willy Loman's paramour.
How does it feel to wait in a hotel room, at the beck and call of a man
on the road? He is there for brief and giddy moments, but she is there
for the longing and uncertainty. Wilner's play is a gem, and these
actors catch the shifting moods perfectly.Otherwise, this is
pretty thin gruel. "Quarks," by William Borden, is a metaphysical
trifle that could click with sexy mystery in the right hands. Angela
Dalton and Eric Webster are not those hands and as director, Coyle does
not get them in sync. "Homeland Security" by Lily Baber Coyle is little
more than a striptease, lacking chemistry or purpose between two
characters at an airport security checkpoint. Post, who had done so
well with "Ignition," fumbles with "Love Poem," and Stan Peal's
"Interrupted" is just that: an incomplete slice of life.Perhaps
this show will find its rhythm the more it runs. As of now - other than
the two favorable pieces mentioned here - it has little to recommend
itself..Graydon Royce - 612-673-7299.LOVE, LAUNDRY & THEORETICAL PHYSICSWhat: Six 10-minute plays. Directed by Patrick Coyle for the Original Theatre Company.When: 7 p.m. Saturday and Monday. Ends July 31.Where: Bryant Lake Bowl, 810 W. Lake St., Minneapolis.Review: Two pieces rise up, but taken as a whole this evening of short works focusing on relationships doesn't catch fire.Tickets: $10. 612-825-8949.
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