Chorus Of Fools Shines A Light On Two Local Playwrights With DOUBLE TAKE
The St. Louis region is home to a multitude of professional theater companies, many of which actively seek to produce and promote the work of local playwrights. Chorus of Fools, a newer company, offered audiences another opportunity to be the first to see two new shows last weekend.
Double Take premiered the one-act plays “The Bigfoot Diaries,” by Eric Satterfield, and “The Pavement Kingdom: A Clinic Escort Play,” by Courtney Bailey. The plays artfully explore contemporary issues with honesty, pathos, and realistically awkward humor. Thematically and emotionally, the two are quite different, but each features ideas and subjects that may linger days after seeing the shows.
Satterfield’s “The Bigfoot Diaries,” directed by e.k. doolin, is set in 1998 in a small town in the Carolinas that hosts an annual Bigfoot festival. Marty, a souvenir shop owner, has a financial stake in driving interest in the annual event. But can the festival continue after a teen boy is viciously attacked by a wild animal in the forest, mumbling “Bigfoot” before falling into a coma? What does Marty know about the incident? How far would he go to keep the festival and tourists on schedule? And why does he care so much about Sasquatch, anyway?
Xander Huber is inherently likeable as Marty, with an awkward shyness and deeply troubling issues. Still, despite Marty’s mercurial mood swings and odd fascination, you hope he can figure things out and get the courage to respond to Cassie’s obvious affections. Moira Healy matches energy and interest as Cassie and she’s no pushover, creating several mixed-signals moments that elicit laughs and sympathy. The plot is interesting, the leads and supporting cast are solid, and director doolin clearly understands the context and where the story is heading, which helps to hold your interest. But the script needs additional work, and about 15 to 20 minutes trimmed, to be the clever, romantic thriller it deserves to be.
Satterfield is a good playwright with abundant imagination and an appreciation for engrossing storytelling. The issue is, there are too many devices and dramatic references included – a YouTube true crime show; a ghostly figure only the tortured protagonist can see; documentary-style video; gritty police work; bookend scenes; flashbacks – to explore any single one to its full potential. Still, I was immediately taken in by the play, perhaps enjoying it more in the moment than the reflection.
Bailey’s “The Pavement Kingdom: A Clinic Escort Play,” is set in the here and now, near the parking lot entrance of a women’s health clinic that offers abortion care. Charon is a volunteer escort whose primary responsibility is directing appointment holders past the misleading check-in sign and yellow vest wearing protesters at the gate. She is observant and friendly, even with the voices of the protestors constantly trying to distract both her and the clients she’s here to safeguard into the building. In real time, and with the occasional interruption to direct arrivals, she tells us about her life, including her recent romance and her friendship with her bestie, Lydia.
Marcy Weigert is charismatic, exuding warmth and welcome as Charon, with brightly colored hair and a rainbow sun umbrella accentuating the sense of determined positivity. Director Tibbetts and Wiegert find a pleasant rhythm and friendly tone that moves the story along at a good pace, adding occasional pauses without letting the audience out of their grasp. As a result, Charon is genuine and completely in the moment. There’s an inherent, unavoidable intimacy in the proximity of stage and audience at the Greenfinch Theatre and Dive. Weigert fills that space with emotional highs and lows, joy and uncertainty, the tedium and necessity of modern life, creating a character with deep empathy and determined resilience. Someone you feel like you’ve known for a lot longer than an hour.
The subject of abortion rights and access is a hot button issue and “The Pavement Kingdom: A Clinic Escort Play,” is not for everyone. If you are comfortable with the subject matter, you will be treated to a sharply reasoned script, delivered with authenticity and more humorous bits than you might expect. Having attended an earlier reading, the produced script feels more focused and compelling, and the tension builds in relatable moments that keep audiences listening.
Chorus of Fools once again delivers an entertaining and thought-provoking evening of shorter plays that feature new and emerging playwrights in the St. Louis region. It will be a great sign for the community when the company is able to extend its production runs to two or three weekends; Double Take deserved more audiences. Adventurous theatergoers and new play fans should watch for their next production.
