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.
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