One of the best parts of a short play or film festival, such as Fritz Blitz and Actors Alliance Fest, which usually features short plays, is if you don't like one offering, there will be another in a few minutes that you may love. Week three of Fritz Blitz has two short plays. Last week was a single play and both opening and closing weeks have four plays each. Now imagine walking into the theater, looking down on to the stage to see Frank (John Garcia) at his motel desk looking at a copy of Playboy magazine and getting a wee bit excited, while in another part of the stage his wife, Sadie, played by deja bleu ginsberg [sic], is lolling in a motel room bed wearing a black slip totally bored out of her mind.
Motel (a diversion) thus teases the audience in pre-show. The house and stage dim to black. The stage lights come up on Frank, now extremely excited about the centerfold, being interrupted by motel guest Bill (David Stinnett), frustrated with his girlfriend and himself -- due to a bit of erectile dysfunction. Ah, but in this play, possible pilot for a new "Dumb and Dumber" movie, the plot doth thicken with laughs. Frank, a good ole boy, also hustles his lovely wife, Sadie. Bill spends some sack-time with Sadie. Kate (Julie Ann Compton) makes her appearance at the motel desk looking for Bill. Well, things get complicated. The weapons of choice include hysteria, a gun (loaded and unloaded), a sword, and a bit of nonsense.
Playwright Richard Markgraf gave director Mike Kelly a difficult task. Motel is a mixed comedy bag including satire, shtick, farce, slapstick, low comedy, and, bless the writer, a couple of well-placed references to The Bard's work. In rewrite, it will be much better, one hopes. Currently, the talented cast for making the best of it.
You can trust Playwright George Soete to test you with his offering of Trust Me directed by Spike Sorrentino with the assistance of Wendy Davis. Duplicity rules! Jonathan Sachs is Ivan, who professionally dispatches folks for a fee. Marjorie (Beth Bayless) hires him to remove husband Arnie (Thomas Haine) from her permanently. For Ivan it is all about the money. Marjorie feels she has excellent reasons for wanting to be rid of Arnie. We meet Arnie in negotiations with Ivan to dispatch Beth. Lovely marriage! Ivan, always trustworthy, is forthright in letting Arnie know that he either pays the fee, or Marjorie's request will be carried out. We find out that Kitty, Jill Drexler, a friend of both Ivan and Marjorie, has her own agenda. This is a lady one definitely should not trust. Add to this confusing mix a waiter named Reggie (the funny Marcio Matias).
The plot follows an internal logic that works. Sachs' Ivan is excellent at extracting double payment (husband and wife), turning up at the most inopportune times (for the other characters), and being a rather nasty villain. Drexler is a joy to watch as she manipulates events in her favor. Bayless and Haine, as the loving couple, really give marriage a bad rap. Matias provides just enough ham to make this a tasty play. Murder and mayhem at its best.
