Fifty-Seven and Still Lying About My Weight Goodside Productions—Susan Freedman, a Canadian woman on the rear cusp of "the silent generation," is silent no more, in this candid, 45-minute life story. Backed by slide show and soundtrack, Freedman tells with self-effacing humor of what job options were to be had in the '50s: wife or stewardess. She leaves nothing out; her three marriages, step-parenting, career, surgery, and finally a hopeful present-day. It is refreshing to hear about life from someone who has lived long enough to have one. Freedman's work needs a unifying idea, but her story is instructive, much like pawing through your parents' photo drawer.—G.T.
*Thank You, Spain! Balance Productions—What happens when the dinner party falls apart? The unintentional slights of old friends, the bickering and you-had-to-be-there jokes, and the unexpected secrets between the closest confidants are put on the table in this comedy/drama about the workings of a variety of relationships. The stereotyped characters (weepy dumped girl; holistic poet hippiewoman; funny, fussy gay guy; token good-looking boyfriend) are made endearingly real by excellent performances all around and some sharp, witty writing. The second act is unexpected and imaginatively staged—with refreshments!--B.J.C.
Michelle Bates
Movement, music, and weird props in Lelavision's Banging Bamboozles.
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The Ballet George's Narcissistic Delusions— Anyone who believes the '70s sitcom Three's Company offers lessons for life is bound to be at least disappointed or, more likely, deranged. Fred (Mickey Losinski) fulfills that expectation in this preposterous comedy of absent manners. A tangle of jealousies and betrayals explode when Fred's roommate and girlfriend try to browbeat him into maturity during a double-date to the ballet. Nothing gets neatly resolved like it does on television; life is messy. So is this script, which values outrageousness more than message, although Harley Rees livens things up with a bawdy Die Walkre that rivals Bugs Bunny's.—G.T.
*Once Upon The End—When Pinnochio explains to his fairytale friends how they have been transferred from paper to computer hard disk, Chicken Little alerts them all to the dangers of Y2K. Millennial chaos offers everyone an opportunity to change their plots: the Big Bad Wolf gets the Princess, Snow White files for divorce, and Sleeping Beauty opens a coffee bar. This community effort from Bellingham features a cast of 36, ranging from age 6 to 50, all of whom have, and offer, a great time. The story went completely over my 5-year-old's head, but she enjoyed the spectacle, the music, and seeing other kids onstage.—G.T.
