BWW Reviews: 59E59's SUMMER SHORTS SERIES A Delivers Desire in 3 Short Plays

Summer in New York City is filled with outdoor theater events and different festivals. At 59E59 summer brings the annual SUMMER SHORTS. This is the seventh year for the event in which excellent writers, directors, and actors come together to present two series of three one-act-shorts. SERIES A delivers a humorous look inside the psyche during the audition process, a fast-paced telling of a political candidate's first meeting with her running mate, and an imaginative retelling of a classic tale of a princess.

SERIES A opens with Neil LaBute's GOOD LUCK (IN FARSI). The play places Kate (Gia Crovatin), a struggling agent-less actress, and Paige (Elizabeth Masucci), an actress fresh off of a cancelled television series trying to get back on her feet, in the waiting room at an audition for the same part. While in the waiting room the women discuss their audition struggles and give each other tips, with inappropriate slams and jabs thrown at each other in between. Both Crovatin and Masucci are equal matches to one another throughout the play. Crovatin hilariously plays up the desperation of Kate while successfully still portraying the confidence, drive, and stop-at-nothing attitude she has. Masucci effectively represents the sadness and struggle even successful actors can run into and the defeat Paige feels, but she still is able to throw in a quick-witted comment to Kate when needed.

GOOD LUCK (IN FARSI) kicks the evening off in a light-hearted way and is the most enjoyable of the three plays. It is the one that can be most identifiable to people, especially actors of all ages and ranges of success, and is one you desperately want more of when it is over.

ABOUT A WOMAN NAMED SARAH was the second play of the evening. Eric Hoff directs Marisa Viola and Mark Elliot Wilson as Sarah Palin and John McCain depicting their first meeting and Sarah's "interview" with Cindy McCain (Stephanie Cannon). Cindy tells Sarah that she is not John's first pick, trying to dissuade her from taking the job, and her husband, Todd (Ben Vigus), also attempts to dissuade her but Sarah's need to be unique does not let her see things their way. Through quick Mamet-esque dialogue the play delivers a humorous view inside politics and a devastating view into the heart of a woman who just wants to be something.

Though the play is interesting, the attempt of the specific pattern and pacing of dialogue was not pulled off. There was also a type of clicking or tick that would sound in-between moments of dialogue that would channel a change in mood or topic that is loud and quite annoying. It takes away from the story that is attempting to be portrayed.

The series ends with a retelling of SLEEPING BEAUTY entitles BREAKING THE SPELL. The play opens on The King, the hilarious Michael Countryman, and his Poor Wretched Fool, the seemingly goofy Evan Shinners. The King's daughter, Christabell (Crystal Finn) has been asleep for nearly 100 year and her time is running out. All hope seems to be gone when PWF has the idea to awake her by music.

Aside from the performance by Countryman and the musical stylings of Shinners, he plays two musicians later on in the piece, the play itself is unsophisticated and uninteresting. There is no enchantment, no development of caring for the two lovers, and a poorly written original song at the end.

After the enjoyment of GOOD LUCK (IN FARSI) and ABOUT A WOMAN NAMED SARAH the final play is rather disappointing, especially since the first few moments really hook you with Countryman's discussion of the events.

Nevertheless, the series is still enjoyable to be apart of and all three of the works are quite diverse. I have not seen SERIES B but I can give a positive recommendation of SERIES A.

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