BWW Reviews: TIGERS BE STILL is Quirky Fun in Raleigh

The Actors Comedy Lab and Raleigh Little Theatre present playwright Kim Rosenstock's Tigers Be Still, a dark but hilarious tale of depression, grief, and escaped zoo animals. Presented in Raleigh Little Theatre's Gaddy Goodwin Teaching Theatre, Tigers Be Still is the simple enough story of a young woman, Sherry, trying to get her life back together as she starts her job as a middle school art teacher with a side gig as an art therapist. Oh, and it also happens that a tiger has escaped from the local zoo.

The story gets a little more complicated when you factor in the fact that Sherry's mother hasn't left her bedroom in months, her sister is so devastated over a breakup that she manages to drink Jack Daniels in her sleep, and her art therapy patient, Zach, also happens to be her new principal's grieving and often misguided son. The show is cut up into little scenes with titles projected on the wall such as "The Rescue," with scene changes underscored by music which sounds largely like the Juno soundtrack. Sherry (and the others) get themselves in and out of some interesting predicaments, all while making great strides toward their greater personal well-being.

As Sherry, the anchor of the show, Jessica Heironimus is quirky, appropriately upbeat, and quite endearing. She is able to carry the show with a tone that seems, somehow, appropriate for a comedy but also appropriate for a show about dealing with depression and grief. The rest of the small ensemble cast will also work their way into your hearts. Middle-school principal Joseph, and his son Zach, played by real-life father and son Kent and Danny Dove, share a heartwarming tale of moving past grief and battling tigers; Tracey Phillips hits the nail on the head while riding the fine line between comedy and caricature in her portrayal of Sherry's sister Grace. Right down to her post-breakup obsession with the love scene in Top Gun, Grace is a character who is believable and relatable.

The scenic design, by Thomas Mauney, makes great use of a small space and creates spaces which are believable as different homes as well as school and outdoors. Other than some missed sound cues related to the phone ringing (which likely had more to do with the phone not working than any actual production error), the show runs smoothly. Performed without an intermission, the audience stays in the moment and is able to fully immerse themselves in the quirky story.

Tigers Be Still is a refreshing piece of theater that is appealing, fun, and smart. It moves at the pace of a film but has the personal touch of live theater, a winning combination. It runs through April 7. For tickets and more information, visit www.raleighlittletheatre.org or www.actorscomedylab.com.

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