Review: ALL IN THE TIMING Stages Six Plays

Theatre Downtown billed ALL IN THE TIMING as "Six plays. Seventeen actors. Lots of Laughs." and I have to say that they got all of that right. ALL IN THE TIMING includes six short plays by David Ives and there were lots of new faces and lots of laughs.

I thought about what I could say about this mix of plays as I was driving home and all I kept wondering was what makes certain writer's minds come up with such interesting and strange thoughts and ideas.

That is not to say I didn't laugh, because I did. That is not to say I didn't have some deep thoughts of my own, because I did that as well. That is not to say I didn't see some good acting, there were definitely some nice performances.

But I also have to say I saw some pieces that I wasn't sure about until they got to the end and then I saw the point. And there were a couple I will have to think on for a while- which is not always a bad thing.

My favorite story is the first play- SURE THING. It is an interesting concept of getting to make a conversation right by starting over and over and over. Who among us hasn't said the wrong thing and wished someone could ring a bell and we could try it again? Victoria Smith as the Bellringer controlled the action and was engaging in her responses to what was happening in front of her. With no lines she still put in one of my favorite performances of the night.

Reagan Dickey, Meg Young and Amy Light are entertaining and interesting in WORDS, WORDS, WORDS as three chimpanzees put into a room with typewriters in order to see if a chimp could indeed write Hamlet, given enough time.

Mary Katherine Bushnell is charming as the stuttering, shy Dawn hoping for help in THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, while PHILLIP GLASS BUYS A LOAF OF BREAD is both confusing and choreographed, while having the simplest story of all of the 6 plays. THE PHILADELPHIA reminds us that "Everybody has to be somewhere" and VARIATIONS ON THE DEATH OF TROTSKY is odd and yet seems to bring us back to the original concept of trying again and again at the sound of a bell. But this time it is done with a twist when we realize the person going over the same thing repeatedly isn't even there.

Confused? Probably. But it was an interesting night of theatre, something different and fascinating. Featuring some of Theatre Downtown's best directors such as Daniel Martin, Bates Redwine, and Karen Marie Black, ALL IN THE TIMING is for the adventurous and experimental theatre goer.

Playing from now until April 2 on Thursday thru Saturday nights at 8, you'll want to contact Theatre Downtown at 205-565-8838 or go to theatredowntown.org for ticket information.

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