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| Photo credit: Band of Toughs |
Playwright:
Adam Bock
Venue: We’re House Performing Arts Center, 5763 Arapahoe Avenue, Unit P, Boulder, CO
Date of Performance: Friday, October 19, 2012
Running Time: 90 minutes (no intermission).
Work is a four letter
word. We trade time for
money. We are expected to please
the boss, even if he or she is clueless.
We put up with it despite the drudgery and the constant friction between
the “leadership” and the assorted misfits who pass for co-workers. It almost doesn’t matter what the
workplace is; we sell our time and talent to the highest bidder and then try to
survive a toxic environment, one day at a time.
“The Thugs” is a 90 minute visit with seven characters trapped in a
modern “Myth of Sisyphus.” It’s a
little scary; I recognized many of the characters from my own work experience:
·
The one who
sucks up to the boss and snitches on the rest of us.
·
The boss who is
clueless.
·
The slacker who
pretends to work.
·
The one who
whispers gossip, just to stir things up.
·
The co-worker
who is a little crazy, takes credit for your work, and whines to the boss when
he or she isn’t getting enough attention.
I know these people. And chances are you do too.
Adam Bock’s script (he also authored one of my favorite new plays, "A Small Fire") tosses these
“temp” worker stereotypes into a mind-numbing task: reviewing class action documents at a law firm. That task can suck the heart and soul
out of any sane person. Mercedes (Colleen Mylott) and Elaine (Cynthia Ward) don’t
start out with a particularly good grasp on their sanity. The others start losing theirs as well
as the focus turns from work to survival.
The performances here are
spot on. Colleen Mylott (Mercedes)
is the perfect snitch. She’s
socially deficient, insecure, and on a never ending, but futile, search for acceptance. Elaine (Cynthia Ward) is a perfect mix
of pouty, provocative, and brief episodes of becoming slightly unhinged. Laura Ann Samuelson (Daphne), the gum
chewing slacker whose boyfriend knocks her around, is bound for tragedy. Bart (Matt Madsen) is the crew’s gossiper,
and he nails it.
Fortunately, there is one
temp who seems fairly normal. Mary
(Alana Eve Burman) tries unsuccessfully to bring the crazies back from the
edge. In one of the best scenes in
the show, she takes a two minute vacation from the whole mess, putting on her
headphones and dancing to the music in her head. That two minute dance reminds us that we all need to escape
the craziness from time to time, even if it’s just a brief respite.
Director Rebecca Easton carefully paces the show by raising and lowering the lighting between scenes to
demonstrate the passing of time.
Some of those scene changes resemble photographs; the characters are
briefly seen posed in a realistic portrait. The effect is quite extraordinary.
Easton also makes creative
use of the limitations of the warehouse space. The stairway needed to get
backstage becomes an access to the rest of the world. The banker boxes stored upstage provide seclusion for Joey
to confront Daphne. Easton injects abundant doses of reality into the entire performance; when the crew goes to lunch, they are
eating real food at their desks and tables.
This production is a quirky,
interesting venture into a working world we know. It’s a place we go to every day, and escape from every night. It doesn’t matter whether you work in a
law office, a restaurant, a hospital, a school, or anywhere else. You’ll see the same characters in every
work place. This play works
because it holds up a mirror to our lives.
If you’re looking for
interesting, edgy theater that will entertain you and perhaps enlighten you,
check out “The Thugs.” You will definitely enjoy the
performances, the characters, and the tasks they have. Heads up, though. You may look at work differently on
Monday morning when you punch in.
NOTES:
This show runs through Saturday,
November 3, 2012. If you haven’t
been to this venue before (or to the nearby Avery Brewery), leave a little
early. It’s in a complex of small
businesses, set back from the street.
Be careful where you park; some of the available spaces are reserved for
other businesses.
Director:
Rebecca Easton
Production Designer: Andrew Metzroth
Sound Designer: David Ortolano
Cast:
Diane: Joan Bruemmer
Mary: Alana Eve Burman
Chantal: Gustine Fudickar
Joey: Kevin Lowry
Bart: Matt Madsen
Mercedes: Colleen Mylott
Daphne: Laura Ann Samuelson
Elaine: Cynthia Ward
Great performances! I hope everyone goes to see and enjoy the show and support this wonderful cast and theatre company! Bravo Thugs and Toughs!
ReplyDeleteIndeed they are fine performances...I didn't mention them all. So let me take a minute and mention a few more now.
DeleteJoan Bruemmer (Diane) is very convincing as a boss who has to enforce what she knows are some ridiculous rules, and as an individual who has to distance herself from her work. It's that distance from the staff that makes her days bearable.
Gustine Fudickar (Chantal) is a wide eyed "newbie" plunged into a toxic environment. She does her best, but there's no surprise that she lasts only one day. She's obviously connected to the real world, and this work world is entirely separate from that reality.
But I really keep coming back to Alana Eve Burman's dance. She really sold it. She briefly, but completely, escaped the craziness. For that brief time, she wasn't at work. She was somewhere else, in a place that made sense.
Kevin Lowry (Joey) had the dubious distinction of playing the heavy here. His part is brief, but important. The less you like him, the better his performance. And I did not care for him at all.
There's a lot to like here....