Review: KILL THE CRITIC - a Misguided Mess

KILL THE CRITIC! by Todd Wallinger is a new period farce that had its second production here in Austin. Set in the fifties, it is a clever little script about an actor who kidnaps a critic to avoid another bad review. Unfortunately, this production by Stage Presence Players, had so much wrong with it that it is hard to know where to begin.

Trevor Stanton (Robert Vignissonn) is a young actor about to make his Broadway debut. Bertram Finch (Jonathan Spear), New York City's most powerful theatre critic has never liked Trevor's work, and will likely use the occasion to write a career-destroying review. Trevor kidnaps Bertram and plans to hide him in his dressing room until the next day, preventing the critic from writing his review. Trevor accidentally gives the critic a bottle of rat poison his alcoholic co-star Jack (Carlton Caudle) keeps his scotch in. To cover his mistake, Trevor finds himself proposing marriage to not one but two women. When his girlfriend Melanie's father Tony (Darren Scharf) shows up, demanding that he replace the prop ring he gave his daughter before the night is through.

All of these actors, in the hands of a good director, could have given fine performances. They deserved better than being put in unfortunate costumes and given unfortunate props. It's pretty hard to recover from a backwards kilt, a set piece that almost falls over every time it is touched and a huge floppy prop gun.

Most of the problems with this production have to be laid squarely at the feet of director / set designer Kristi Treitler and costumer Cyndel Payne. For some completely inexplicable reason, the director has chosen to set the piece as a Christmas play. It has nothing to do with Christmas and is flatly distracting and does a huge disservice to playwright Wallinger.

Farce requires a certain style of production and a frenetic energy that this production never rose to. It's hard to keep true to the spirit of the piece when the main goal seems to be making a Christmas show out of a show that has nothing to do with Christmas.

KILL THE CRITIC! by Todd Wallinger

Running time: 90 Minutes with one intermission

KILL THE CRITIC!, produced by Stage Presence Players, at Ground Floor Theatre (979 Springdale Rd, Austin, TX 78702) Ran Dec. 10-12, 2015.

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