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| Alex Broun. Photo-The Alley Theater. |
The Bits and
Pieces
Written and Directed by
Various Artists
A review by Kate Barry
Entire contents are
copyright © 2013 Kate Barry. All rights reserved.
The Alley Theater has a collection of short
plays within their second annual Inhumana:
A Festival of New American Undead Theater. This collection,
appropriately titled The Bits and Pieces, covers all genres from light
and comedic farce to dark and sinister. This is a showcase that takes
theater back to basics with small casts, simple sets and things
that go bump in the night; it is by far the most
entertaining night of theater I have seen at the Alley Theater.
To Kill a Zombie, The Possethsion
and Fang carry a
lighter, comedic tone. As a couple of lone survivors in a Walking Dead-type of zombie
infestation, Jamie Shannon and Felicia Casey Stewart play well together in
To Kill a Zombie. Where one survivor fends off the undead with a baseball
bat, the other forms a tequila-drenched zombie conga line. To think,
zombies have enough rhythm in their decrepit forms that they can move and sway
to the beat. The conga line is indeed humorous and these zombies
re-appear in between scenes to strike set pieces. At times, these “Tequila”-infused set changes
created comic relief for heavier moments within the short plays, other times it
felt a bit unnecessary, especially after pieces that carried
great tension. Secondly, The Exorcist is given a modern-day makeover as parents decide they’d rather
keep their daughter under the possession in The Possethsion. As the
possessed daughter, Rachel Caudel was quite a sight to see as she switched from
a guttural growl to her natural feminine timber all the while gyrating in the
midst of flashing lights. Fang places
a vampire in a dentist’s office, where Joey Arena and Jamie Shannon play a
mismatched odd couple in a silly sex comedy. Arena's vampire is silly while
remaining seductive and mysterious.
In the midst of these comedic short plays are
two pieces that are haunting, with just enough terror to get your heart to
beat a little faster. The Masque of the Red Death is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s story. Creepy and
weird, this movement piece was a mesmerizing display of choral recitation.
Plus the masks increased the weirdness tenfold. This is immediately
followed by Darkness, a quick, intense scene set in pitch black in which
a man talks to the monster under his bed. I will admit that I checked
underneath my bed after I came home after the play. Lastly there’s Bedford’s
Sty, which brought the classic Vincent Price films to mind. Not exactly
scary or eerie, but it explores the hell we create for ourselves. This
play has taken elements of comedy and thrown in moments of psychological
thrills and created a piece that culminates not only the collection of plays
within The Bits and Pieces but also
the entire Inhuman Festival occurring at the Alley Theater.
The Bits and
Pieces
Part of the Inhumana: A
Festival of New American Undead Theater
April 4-19
The Alley Theater
1210 Franklin Street
1210 Franklin Street
Louisville, KY 40206
502-713-6178
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