Actors shine in funny 'Sordid Lives'
The sounds of classic country fill the tiny Studio theater at the Rose Wagner Center. A great big cowboy boot serves as both door and backdrop, while we look at two couches with cowboy fabric.
This is Texas in 1998, and this is the world of "Sordid Lives," by Del Shores, the latest production of Pygmalion Theatre Company. The original stage play won 14 Drama-Logue Awards and was later turned into a movie of the same name.
"Sordid Lives," has been called "a black comedy about white trash," and it's not for everyone.
Filled with racy moments, foul language and plenty of vices to go around, "Sordid Lives" is about a family mourning the loss of their mother, but that's a huge understatement.
The characters surrounding the dead woman are as complex and intertwined as the potato chips on top of the casserole the neighbor brought over.
There are dueling daughters, a nicotine-addicted sister, the gay actor/nephew living in New York and a gay son, "Brother Boy," who dresses in drag, loves Tammy Wynette and has been locked in a mental institution for his "transgressions."
Shores' script is interesting — each scene seems to be its own story, which had me wondering, at times, if any of them had much to do with the other.
That is, until they all finally come together for the funeral — one that is far more entertaining than it is sad.
If all the aforementioned doesn't bother you, "Sordid Lives" is funny. Filled with great one-liners, jabs at the small-town Texas mentality and a fair amount of physical comedy, it takes a good group of actors to pull it off.
Director Fran Pruyn has given us just that. The 12-person cast is solid all the way around, with standout performances by Reb Fleming as the super uptight daughter; Barb Gandy as Dr. Eve Bolinger; and Barbara Smith as a very convincing town drunk. Michael Canham, Stein Erickson, Vicki Pugmire and the rest of the cast connect well.
Using the same couch and set-up for multiple scenes was a bit confusing. It would be nice to at least have the couches moved in different angles so it's clear we're no longer is Sissy's front room.
And some of the set changes seemed a bit lengthy. I'm not sure if they took a long time so that A. Bronwen Beecher could sing an interlude song, or if she was singing because the set changes were taking too long.
But that's pretty minor. Actually, the most frustrating thing was the playbill — which didn't have bios about the actors, but rather their thoughts on their characters. Only a few mentioned previous acting experience.
It's too bad. The actors were very funny and human. and it would be nice to learn more about them.
Sensitivity Rating: Graphic sexual language, including profanity; partial undressing, smoking and drinking. Adults only.
E-MAIL: ehansen@desnews.com
Recent comments
So true, some of the actors really steal the scene in this show,...
joshua p | April 30, 2008 at 10:14 a.m.
