by dick kerekes dickkerekes@yahoo.com
Hurrah, the drought is over! At least in my opinion. The FCCJ one-acts that opened last weekend at Wilson Center fall into the category of Theatre of the Absurd. You can see for yourself by attending either of the two final performances at 8 pm on July l3th and l4th.
Since First Coast Theatre closed up shop, theatre-goers have not had the opportunity to experience mind-boggling madness on local stages. The two one-act plays, The Root of Chaos by Douglas Soderburg (directed by Dee Riche) and Titanic by Christopher Durang (directed by David Mechoso), besides twisting realities in every direction, share another thing in common: both are based on historical events.
The Root of Chaos concerns the plight of a family living in Centralia, Pennsylvania, during the Centralia mine fires. In l962, a fire was set in Centralia’s garbage dump. It found its way through a hole into the huge labyrinth of abandoned coalmines that lay beneath the city. The city, the state and the federal government were unable to control the fire and it spread under the town, sending dangerous gases into one house after another. In l983, Congress approved 42 million dollars to relocate anyone who wanted to leave. 90% moved out and the fire continues to burn to this day.
Set in a home above the fire, Joe (Kevin Gilbert), his wife Wilma (Mary Cumpton), and their children Skeeter (Cory Change) and Doublement (Chelsa Donovan), live an odd life. They constantly check the level of their house, measure the crack in the basement wall, and look at various meters indicating levels of carbon monoxide, decibels of sound and temperature. They do many other strange things that I will let you discover for yourselves, but be forewarned, the language is earthy and the action is wrought with sexual situations. This play closes with a bang, courtesy of the only other character, a local police officer played by Zdravko Rozic. The set and various props were very interesting, while lighting and sound added to the drama and humor. The cast did a fine job of portraying these off-the-wall characters.
After a brief intermission, the deck of the ship Titanic appears. This, of course, is the famous ocean-liner that, on its maiden voyage from England in l9l2, hit an iceberg and sank. This tragedy remains a popular subject for both books and films.
As this definitely X-rated play opens, rich businessman Richard (Kevin Gilbert), his attractive wife Victoria (Mary Cumpton) and young son, Teddy (Justin Reynolds) are in the ship’s dining room complaining about not being at the Captain’s table. This leads quickly to an argument in which Victoria tells her husband that Teddy’s real father is a derelict she met on the beach. Richard tells Victoria she is not really the mother of their daughter and her sister Harriet is. He says, “Harriet and I did it with mirrors.”
The play gets more and more convoluted. The ship Captain (Alex Palmer) enjoys wearing a sex toy for a hat when pursuing women. He has a sex-starved daughter named Lidia (Kasi Walters) who has strange habits concerning her body.
That is as deep as I am going to get into this plot, or I may sink as rapidly as the Titanic did. There are some zany sailors and passengers who complete the cast and include David Farrington, Ashley Chlebus, Emily Hancock, Solomon Levine and Zdravko Rozic. Titanic is a very funny play and could be best classified as an unconventional sex farce.
Durang has always been a prolific writer of plays featuring bizarre creatures with sexual permutations as a central theme. This play debuted l974 and has two gay marriages in it, which was somewhat of a phenomenon at that time.
Mr. Mechoso did an excellent job of casting and directing and was fortunate to have actors with good physical skills (lots of running around in underwear) and incredible timing. The costumes were great and looked just like l912. Kudos to the lighting and sound engineers for creating an extremely versatile set. You will leave the theatre humming ‘Nearer My God to Thee,’ I guarantee.
Thanks to the theatre department of FCCJ, Operations Manager Beth Harvey, Theatre Coordinator Ken McCulough, Technical Theatre Director Johnny Pettegrew, and Scene Shop Supervisor Robert Rupp for encouraging and facilitating the development of new talent in all aspects of live theatre. The one-acts have become an annual event I would not dare miss. Don’t you miss all this craziness and fun! Get thee to Wilson Center on the l3th or l4th. The Wilson Center is located at the FCCJ South Campus, 11901 Beach Boulevard.
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