The greatest drawback to the 4th annual Festival of Independent Theaters (FIT), now playing through August 3, 2002 at the Bath House Cultural Center on White Rock Lake, is that it is not juried, resulting in an anything-goes policy. With nine companies performing in blocks of twos and threes in repertory over four weekends, FIT, while hosting three wonderful productions, reflects the unevenness of material and directing and is not yet ready for prime time.
The dramatic standout is Ground Zero Theater Company's well-done production of Bad Roof by Tim Hatcher. This excellently-crafted work features Kevin Keating in a believable enactment of an Appalachian coal mine supervisor who has climbed the ladder from the bottom rung. He has the unenviable job of notifying three miners' wives that they have just become widows. Keating, on stage the entire time, gives a superlative performance. Lulu Ward, known for her campy roles at Pegasus Theater, proves her versatility as an embittered widow. Excellent performances are also given by Lissa Creola and Laura Yancey with the able guidance of director, Kimberlyn Crowe.
Two of the FIT comedies are outstanding for their wild and zany premises and campy productions. Beardsley Living Theater presents a comic romp in Bill Bozzone's Sonny DeRee's Life Flashes Before His Eyes. Sonny (Scott Milligan) has a heavy gambling debt, and a hit man named Nick (Chris Niedzwiecki) has been dispatched to finish off Sonny with a chainsaw. Enter -- just in the nick of time -- Emma (Brenda Galgan), the mother from Hell. She has brought the money, but before she is willing to part with it, Sonny must meet certain conditions. Director Michael Galgan guides the cast in a riotous production, with Brenda going all out as the New York mother who demands compliance from her errant son. And Emma plays by the Golden Rule: she has the gold; she makes the rules -- with hilarious results.
Another not-to-be-missed play is Wingspan Theater Company's uproarious Art on the Fridge, by local playwright, Valerie Brogan. In a departure from its usual fare Wingspan, under the superb direction of Cynthia Hestand, gives this off-beat comedy a splendid rendering. Each of its four cast members gets the proverbial '15 minutes of fame' in some drop- dead-funny monologues. The opening night audience never stopped laughing.
"Art on the Fridge" utilizes a refrigerator as the central character and universal catalyst. Although two of the four actors were replaced during rehearsal, Wingspan displayed the professionalism inherent in "the show must go on" spirit with producer Susan Sargeant stepping in four days before opening night. Her performance belied any indication of this fact. Regan Adair gets a laugh a minute as a gay man who idolizes Marilyn Monroe and has her refrigerator as a constant reminder. Linda Comess is a hoot as a frazzled housewife trying to get organized by taping all things important to the front of her refrigerator.
