Triple Play

Two hours in a folding chair is a challenge for these old bones. I'm happy to report that, with the help of a well-placed intermission, ClapAtUs Productions' /Triple Play/ was engaging enough that the spartan seating never really bothered me. In fact I went away charmed by the little proscenium space at the Asheville Arts Center on Merrimon Avenue. But the real charming was done by the actors, each of whom took on roles in at least two of the three plays presented, and by the playwrights.

The show begins with Rob Taylor's shortie "Honeymoon," a funny trifle about a man who wakes up the morning after his bachelor party with an unexpected party leftover -- a woman he doesn't remember meeting. Darren Marshall aptly renders the bachelor's confusion and dismay. Sonia D'Andrea's sexily cheeky Ella is perfect, and when DiAnna Ritola arrives -- that's right, she's the fiancee -- she heats things right on up, and the clever playwriting does not disappoint.

The meat of the evening is David Hopes' longer piece, /The Beautiful Johanna, /a drama set in a war-ravaged city in Ireland. Marshall, as the painter Reiner, Ritola, in the title role as Reiner's model and sometimes lover, and D'Andrea as a war orphan hiding out with friends in fear of the strife in the streets, have a chance to display their very considerable acting skills. Chris Brunton, as a street savvy survivor named Terence, very competently rounds out the cast along with playwright Nathan H. Adams who takes the role of Terence's rather hysterical lover.

Adams' short presentational piece, "The Fall of Four Men," is a contemplation on death and greatness. It gives four of the ensemble the chance to act in the presentational style, and I was glad to hear Darren Marshall give his full, booming voice some rein. I was reminded of how important the voice is to the actor, and Marshall is gifted with a good one.

I have already begun to forget that these plays were performed on-book. The plays were well rehearsed and smartly directed as staged readings. There was not too much blocking, not too little; all the production values were just about right. I'll remember seeing the plays, not readings thereof. The price of admission is a pittance. If you can catch the final performance (Sunday afternoon) and you are interested in Asheville's treasure of real live local theatre, this one will satisfy.
-- Jerry Stubblefield