 |
| Point Break LIVE! in rehearsal. |
Point Break LIVE!
Created by Jaime Keeling
Directed by Scott Davis
Reviewed by Keith Waits
Entire contents are copyright © 2013, Keith Waits.
All rights reserved.
There are difficulties in reviewing a show in its
fourth go-round with the same company. It may be impossible to recapture the
sense of discovery that came with the first production; and even the most
generous comparisons may characterize the latest rendition as
Johnny-come-lately.
It helps that this is only my second visit to the
anarchic spoofery that is Point Break
LIVE! I thought highly of the first production and, in theory, this is that
same script. Yet this version seemed looser, less polished, even a little less
professional in some ways; but it is also altogether edgier, as if infected by
a devil-may-care virus.
The premise remains the same. Oscar-winning
filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow is mounting a stage version of her cult classic movie
and elects to choose an audience member to play the Keanu Reeve role of injured
football star turned FBI undercover agent Johnny Utah. The implicit criticism
of any random choice being able to adequately substitute for the famously
vacant gaze of Mr. Reeve is a funny idea. But it is just the jumping-off point
for a satire that targets celebrity and cheesy, almost-B movies at a pace that
never allows any jokes falling flat to slow down the proceedings enough for the
audience to notice. Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey also starred in the original
movie; and the actors are targets as much, if not more, than the characters or
the story.
The Swayze role of Bodhi, the mystical
bank-robber/surfer, is here essayed by Todd Zeigler with appropriate Zen
empty-headedness, although I think he misses the opportunity to nail the
arrogant, macho swagger that was a hallmark of that dearly departed movie star.
Kimby Taylor-Peterson was commanding as Katheryn Bigelow, and her improv skills
were well-employed as she kept the premise afloat while backstage preparations
with the Keanu substitute were underway. Jamie Shannon was a game and energetic
PA (Production Assistant) whose primary function is to manhandle the fake Keanu
through the action and supply his lines on laminated cue cards. Chesley Sommer
played Roach, a member of the bank robbers/surfer gang with perhaps a bit too
much fevered energy; but he had some funny moments. Brian McKenery did yeoman
work as a utility player, including operating the live video feed. As Tyler,
the shared girlfriend/plot device for both Bodhi and Johnny Utah, Christie
Troxell did her best with a thankless part, providing at least some Southern-fried
sass to her underwritten character. Ben Unwin was a riot as Grommet and another
gang member who was realized simultaneously as a puppet. This was a departure
from the script necessitated by a last-minute drop-out from the cast, but it
proved a welcome piece of fresh business that helped liven up the evening. And
Kenn Parks was a suitably ridiculous Gary Busey stand-in as Angelo Pappas, the
FBI agent running the operation. The evening I was in attendance, Jeremy
Gernert won the casting call to be Keanu, and, besides being generally a good
sport, he gave several line readings that were an unquestionable improvement on
the original.
The first production divided the audience and
identified an "action zone" closer to the stage – an area in which
the audience was at great risk of being saturated with water and fake blood and
were subject to a certain amount of forced participation in several scenes. Now
staged in the cozy cabaret space, ALL seats are in the "action zone."
There is no escape from the assault of liquids and actors practically jumping
in your lap, so don't be shy about donning the cheesy plastic protective gear.
And watch out for the laminated cue cards that Ms. Shannon tosses in every
conceivable direction with abandon and force! In all seriousness, there is a
real hazard to that element that makes protective eye wear or a hard hat a
worthy accessory. Several audience members (including this reviewer) were
struck directly or after a card ricocheted off the support beams and pipes
above our heads, although there were no cuts or bruises suffered.
Drinking is allowed – nay encouraged – which makes
sense since this may be the most foolhardy yet fun theatrical enterprise on a
Louisville stage this summer. But this is a party show if ever there was one
and, as such, has become a near-iconic staple of The Alley's programming. Check
it out if you dare, but be prepared to defend yourself.
Point Break LIVE!
June 20-22, 28-29
July 12-13, 19-20
Tickets $20
All shows at 7:30 p.m.
Student "pay what you can night": Thursday July 22
Industry Night: $12 tickets – Monday July 8
The Alley Theater
1205 East Washington
Street
Louisville, KY 40202
502-589-3866
No comments:
Post a Comment