Theater Review

Tom Titus

The one-act play is not as simple a project to present as it might

appear. The author must make his or her point quickly, without the luxury

of leisurely exposition, and the actors must carry it off credibly,

immediately involving the audience.

Each year about this time, OCC’s student repertory company tackles a

program of one-acts -- some by noted playwrights, others home-grown. The

level of effectiveness often varies considerably from one to another.

This year’s 15th annual crop of eight one-acts (because of time

conflicts, only four could be glimpsed) run the proverbial gamut of

excellence, with two actors in particular making their marks in two of

the playlets. These would be OCC students Angel Correa and Alison

Hartson.

Correa and Hartson exhibit both talent and range, taking the roles of

antagonistic brother and sister in one production and an upwardly mobile

couple married 27 years in the other. While they impress in the former

project, they truly hit their stride in the latter.

“Jealousy” springs from the fertile pen of Murray Schisgal, perhaps best

known for his offbeat comedy “Luv” in the 1960s. The similarities abound

-- both are three-character plays involving a married couple and an old

high school buddy of the husband.

Schisgal twists the satirical knife in both plays, treading to the

precipice of farce. In “Jealousy,” splendidly staged by Jose Soto, Correa

and Hartson spend most of the evening toasting their success -- and

animatedly playing out various scenarios touching on what terrible events

might have befallen them.

Just when these games are getting a bit tiresome, the high school buddy

-- with whom Correa’s character had constantly competed -- arrives,

sending the show’s hilarity into overdrive. Jeff Campbell enriches this

role as effectively as Jack Lemmon did as his counterpart in the movie

version of ‘Luv.’

In Richard Polak’s “Steak Night,” directed by Gary B. Finesilver, Correa

and Hartson are at each other’s throats as vengeful siblings put on the

spot by a family tradition in which steak at the dinner table means

someone’s misdeeds are about to be punished.

Jeff Kemper and Sheree Cottrill are splendid as the conflicted parents

and Chris Buechler gives a fine impersonation of a preteen son. Kudos

particularly to the stage crew, charged with a plethora of scenic

transitions.

Christopher Durang has penned many viciously effective satires (“Beyond

Therapy,” “The Actor’s Nightmare,” “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All

for You,” etc.). However, “Naomi in the Living Room” is not among them.

This is a one-note screech of a playlet involving a psychotic mother, her

repressed son and his confused new wife.

Krissy Shaw indulges in the requisite egregious overacting as the mom,

while Adam Johnson and Tracy Weisberg underplay to the point of virtual

invisibility as the young couple. Paul Williams directed the piece,

stressing its characterization contrasts.

OCC student Rebecca Muhleman both wrote and directed the abbreviated

exercise titled “Quo Vadis, Tinker Bell?” It’s intended to demonstrate

how one person is no better than another, despite society’s pecking

order.

Pamela Russell portrays an impressionable reporter interviewing a “great

man” encompassed by a huge head mask (Michael Cavinder) whose pretensions

of normalcy create the opposite of the intended response. The transition

is far too fuzzy to be effective.

Four other one-acts are included in the festival, which concludes this

weekend. The best of the opening night’s quartet, “Jealousy,” plays one

final time, Friday evening.

WHAT: OCC One-Act Play Festival

WHERE: Drama Lab Studio Theater, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

WHEN: Final performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday

HOW MUCH: $5

PHONE: (714) 432-5640, Ext. 1