Comedy premiere has some potential

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By David Burke | Friday, April 11, 2008 2:50 PM CDT | () comments

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO From left, Adam Lewis, J.W. Hertner, Jackie Madunic, Bryan Tank, Liz Millea and, front, Tristan Tapscott in My Verona’s "Inside Out."

It's a horrible, gawdawful play wrapped inside a mediocre play wrapped inside a decent and promising play.

If you can get your mind around all that, and adjust your brain to figure out the show-within-a-show-within-a-show concept, you just might enjoy “Inside Out,” performed by My Verona Productions this weekend at the Village Theatre, the former Turner Hall in the Village of East Davenport.

The comedy, being premiered here, is admittedly a work in progress. Producer Tristan Tapscott — who portrays the playwright of the core, horrible play — said playwright Christian Krauspe, a recent graduate of Western Illinois University, has been making changes almost daily since rehearsals began. The shows this weekend may even have adjustments from what was seen in a press preview Wednesday night.

The purposefully awful play, “Love’s Last Gasp,” has a heroine (Jackie Madunic) escaping kidnappers while being courted by Jack Love (Bryan Tank).

But when the director (Adam Lewis) halts the rehearsals, we learn — rather graphically — that the actor is trying to make time with the actress while she’s interested in the playwright (Tapscott).

All of this backstage stuff plays out for another playwright, Brad (again, Adam Lewis), who is writing the second play and being critiqued by Liz (Liz Millea), his female friend-but-they-should-be-more.

Played out in a booth in front of the stage, Brad and Liz’s exchanges make their way into the script, which Brad has to rush to a theater company mere hours before it’s to go on stage (learning lines and blocking scenes be damned, I suppose).

But it’s the scenes between Brad and Liz that are the highlight and the most promising part of “Inside Out.” Lewis, a veteran of ComedySportz and numerous local productions, could get laughs from reading insurance manuals, and Millea — a Bootlegger at Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse — is a good and appealing counterpoint to him, the latest in a recent line of cute girls in glasses. She takes the stage as the villain as well, one of several performers making quick changes.

Madunic gets more mileage than Tank from their actors-as-actors parts. Since even the play in the middle layer is supposed to have its bad moments, we’re never quite sure if it’s intentionally bad acting or not.

Rounding out the cast is J.W. Hertner as both a gawky stage manager (a recognizable character for anyone who’s ever been involved in a theater production) and a henchman who, we’re reminded frequently, is the son of a goat.

While the Liz-and-Brad scenes are the most natural, the scenes in the middle layer come off as stilted. Again, we’re never sure if that’s purposely so or not.

Playing off several levels is difficult for a young playwright to pull off, and Krauspe — entering Arizona State University this fall to pursue his master’s degree in playwriting — has a firm hold on the concept.

Director Chris Walljasper works with the limited lighting in the facility to necessitate the changes from one plane to the next while bringing the action almost into the laps of the audience. His direction is appropriately schlocky, shaky and sentimental in places.

Far from perfect, “Inside Out” plants seeds for what could be some great future stage potential.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com. Comment on this review at qctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: “Inside Out” by My Verona Productions

When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Village Theatre Turner Hall), 2113 E. 11th St., Village of East Davenport

How much: $10

Information: TristanLayneTapscott.com/ myverona on the Web