Written & Directed by Brandon Kalbaugh
Non-union production (closed)
Two Spoons Theatre Company
(www.onoffoff.com/companyBook.xzc?PK=983)
The Producers Club Royal Theatre
358
Review by Seth Bisen-Hersh
Have You Seen This Man? …The Mel Grovero Project is hit and
miss. Some parts are really funny; other
parts are meandering. The overall point is
admirable, but it could be made more quickly and clearly.
The show has no plot. There is a frame of people searching
desperately for a light. Then, there are
vignettes following a struggling actor, Billy, who never appears on stage. The point of the show is to make your own
light, and be true to oneself; however, this point is muddied by the lack of structure and length of
some of the segments.
And yet, there are very
comical moments. Some of the truisms hit
upon are hilariously right on the nose; for example, a scene with a sketchy
broker, scenes depicting possible Craigslist apartment ads, and acting seminars
that basically contradict themselves in the advice given.
The cast is universally
funny. It is a shame that the actors in
the frame structure (Josh Carpenter,
Brooke Chirone and Salim Rahman) are underused, but when
they are used, they are endearing. The
other three (Cinda Lawrence, Joe MacDougall and Brady Ovson) have the opportunity to showcase their dynamic ranges
energetically.
Brandon Kalbaugh keeps the
pace moving; the transitions between scenes are well polished, even if some of
the scenes seem superfluous or superfluously long. In her set design, Angie Dix is nicely able to create many different locations from
very little.
There are definitely some
funny moments in Have You Seen This Man? …The
Mel Grovero Project , but overall the show is too long. There is potential, however, if the show were
trimmed down and better structured to make a valid point about how to stay sane
while following one’s dreams.
Writing: 1
Directing: 1
Acting: 1
Set: 1
Costumes: 1
Lighting/Sound: 1
Copyright 2006 Seth
Bisen-Hersh
Return to Volume Thirteen, Number One Index
Return to Volume Thirteen Index
Return to Home Page