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Home - Theater
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COLD CREAM
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* Confession is good for the soul, even of critics, so any complaints about Shelterskelter 14 should be preceded by the admission that I’m not fond of harsh horror concoctions without a heavy dose of humor.
Having said that, most of the 10 short plays at the Shelterbelt pass my macabre humor test and one was as brilliant as anything I’ve seen in their fall horror or Valentine’s love series of original one-acts. But it was tempting to slip away at intermission when the first half was dominated by some really brutal stuff.
The first offering, Georgie Gets a Facelift by Daniel Guyton, gave Liz Mulhern a chance to shine as an airhead mother pooh-poohing the problems of her suicidal and psychopathic son. Her character compensated for its ugly side.
Most of the other pre-intermission material didn’t have that saving grace. But don’t let that chase you away. And if you’re attending with a friend who can’t stand the bloodier tales, consider arriving a little before 9:30 p.m. instead of the 8 p.m. start.
The second half opens with a graveyard scene as a ghost buster confronts a vampire and a charming ghost played by Trude Grosenbach. It has its clunky spots but entertains. Then comes a one-man piece of brilliant writing by Mark Cornell, performed hilariously by Eric Grant-Leanna. It alone is worth the price of admission, and good enough to return for Shelterskelters ad infinitum.
It’s called The Inciting Incident, the story of a failed screenwriter whose neighbors rouse his worst suspicions. Unless playwright Cornell is a one-trick pony, we want to see much more of his work at the first opportunity.
The next one-act, Damn Spot, might have worked as well for next year’s Shelterbelt with Love.
Mulherin scores again, this time as a widow who asks a priest (Jay Huse) to exorcise a diabolical spot on her floor. Seems it possesses her to have uncontrollable sex when she stands on it, and she’s finding that hard to resist.
And the finale, Fortnight of the Living Dead, has fun with zombies and leads to a terrific curtain call. All this and free Halloween candy.
* The Metropolitan Community College series of play readings at the Omaha Community Playhouse continues at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26. This time Nick Zadina presents his new play, Remembering Patsy Cline: a Tribute to a Honky Tonk Angel.
You suppose he was inspired by the Patsy role played by his wife, Erika Hall Zadina, at the Playhouse?
— Warren Francke
Cold Cream looks at theater in the metro area. Email information to coldcream@thereader.com. |
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