Review: LOOPED at The Roustabouts Theatre Co

Tallulah Bankhead once said, “Say anything about me, darling, as long as it isn’t boring.” The Roustabouts Theatre Company rose to that challenge with “Looped.” It is a delightfully funny play showcasing her humor and heartbreak, with a lead performance that Bankhead herself would agree is captivating.   “Looped” is playing through October 20th.

 Tallulah Bankhead is an infamous character—an actress more famous for her personal life antics than her onscreen ones, with a wit to rival Oscar Wilde or Dorothy Parker. Notice that “being on time” or “easy to work with” are not on that list. 

Based on a real-life incident, this play focuses on a moment where Bankhead (Eileen Bowman) has to come to a sound studio to record one line of dialogue for a film.  Danny (Alex Guzman) is a film editor, and he does not know how he became the person responsible for recording this single line, but he is here to get it done as quickly as possible. Tallulah is more interested in anything other than saying this line, and Steve (Chris Braden), the sound engineer, would like to go home but gets paid overtime, so he’s happy to be here.  

While Danny is a rule follower and uptight about needing to leave for another commitment, he finds that he is powerless against Tallulah’s no-holds-bared, outrageous personality and wit, which are fueled by cocaine and alcohol. Unfazed and unrepentant of her reputation, she controls the recording room and the show's audience with fierceness, vulnerability, and a constant delivery of zingers.  

Directed by Phil Johnson, he smartly keeps the pace quick, the jokes sharp, and the laughs coming as Danny wrestles for control over this recording session. It’s an enemies-to-friends romantic comedy of sorts, with many sarcastic and funny moments allowing all performers to shine. The second act sobers up (but still with plenty of laughs,  booze, and drugs) with more emotional revelations and weighted pauses that add to the tension as secrets are revealed. 

Bowman looks and acts every inch of a movie star and brilliantly embodies this brassy, boozy, and incorrigible broad. Her Bankhead is a character, but one with nuance and shadows that humanize her beyond the caricature she became known for later in life. 

Guzman’s clean-cut and controlled Danny is a wonderful foil.   As Tallulah perceives and probes that there is more to his story than meets the eye, he gets wound tighter and tighter until he snaps.

Braden is mostly off-stage but brings a lovely sense of personality and character to the sound engineer. 

The costume design by Jemima Dutra and hair and wigs by Peter Herman is period appropriate and the men fit in to this corporate space, allowing for Bankhead to dazzle as a celebrity dripping in jewels and furs on a summer day in LA. 

Tony Cucuzzella's scenic design gives the feel of a period recording studio and a claustrophobic space as these two personalities tussle. Ted Leib's sound design and Curtis Mueller's lighting design complete this scene.

There is a tendency to sanitize the past and make it seem like the good old days were somewhat tamer to show how crazy the current day has become. Thankfully, “Looped” allows a diva to reclaim her spotlight and remind everyone that the only life worth living is one fully lived.

How To Get Tickets

“Looped” plays through October 20th by The Roustabouts Theatre Company at the Legler Benbough Theatre on the Alliant International University campus.  For ticket and showtime information, go to www.theroustabouts.org

Photo Credit: LOOPED: Alex Guzman & Eileen Bowman - photo by Daren Scott

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