Lives of the saints

A playful production that brings out the best of laughs, “Lives

of the Saints” is a production of humor and interesting

questions.

Bas Bleu Theatre’s latest production, “Lives of the Saints” is a

group of six one-act plays that relay laughter and inspire thought.

Director John Hill calls to arms a six-member cast that couldn’t do

any better in their attempts to portray their guilty and beguiled

characters, which inevitably find themselves in sticky

situations.

What does one do when they become a slave to a living

television? How do you explain that you’re in love with a piece of

off-white printer paper? Can your shadow get medical treatment for

a mental malady that you have? “Lives of the Saints” answers these

questions, but not in the way you might think.

This is John Hill’s fourth time directing at Bas Bleu, and the

way he shapes the production is a delight to audiences. A gung-ho

attitude and a witty sense of humor shine through in each

piece.

As Molly McGuire prepares a funeral breakfast as Flo in “Lives

of the Saints,” a certain relation with another generation becomes

apparent. No matter what age you are, McGuire and Tamara Todres,

who plays Edna, will spark a certain memory as they prepare their

fruit salad, red Jell-O and argue over the consistency of

duck-blood soup.

A special treat awaits audiences as Ken Benda takes the stage to

perform “A Singular Kind of Guy.” Such a work leaves one wondering

if they have ever in their life, met a character so strange. Benda

is an aficionado of accents, and his skills are on display

throughout the production, as he takes the stage as nurse, gym

teacher, Inspector Dexter and Mitch, the typewriter enthusiast.

“Lives of the Saints” is a hilarious spattering of human folly.

Catering to old and young, the production achieves grins

throughout, whether one enjoys intelligent word play or

out-of-the-Bleu sex humor.

“I’ve always been intrigued with David Ives’ work,” John Hill

said, “David Ives’ through-line is the complexity of

communication.”

Stephen Hill plays Jeremy, the not-quite-dead victim of murder

with a questionable motive. Does fornication with furniture and

throw rugs justify homicide? Scott Mowrey’s character Roger, a

suspect in the crime, comes face to face with the fact he doesn’t

enjoy his wife’s cooking and speculates God doesn’t either. This

all leads to a very interesting and sidesplitting rendition of “The

Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage,” another of the six plays in “Lives

of the Saints.”

“Lives of the Saints” is a curious and much desired retreat from

everyday life, one that will spark many laughs and provokes deep

thought. Hill and his cast succeed in bringing out the humor and

intelligent aspects of another side of life.