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| Teresa Valenza and Jeff Swearingen in ARSENIC AND ROSES |
From
The Dallas
Morning News:
Festival
of Independent Theatres Gets Off to a Strong Start
Monday
July 20, 2009
By
Lawson Taitte / Dallas Morning News
The
first two weekends of this year's Festival of Indepependent Theatres share a
similiar lineup of openings: One of the two founding companies still participating
anchors with a show by a famous woman playwright, while three newer companies
contibute a new play, most world premieres. The first week's entires, reviewed
Sunday, all looked strong.
.
. .
The
two completely original scripts both deal with odd couples. The more successful,
Audacity Theatre Lab's Arsenic and Roses is a trifle, but a really pleasant
one. Jeff Hernandez directed Brad McEntire's comedy about a man down on his
luck who (Jeff Swearingen) who seeks refuge in a bar where the sole waitress
is a girl he snubbed in high school (Teresa Valenza). Swearingen's knack for
leavening hilarious schtick with deadeye emotional accuracy works its usual
wonders, and Valenza builds sympathy for a character who in the wrong hands
would simply be annoying.
Fantasy
and Romance
That's
what the first round of openings at the Festival of Independent Theatres delivered.
Who's up for more?
by
Mark Lowry
Published
Sunday, July 19, 2009
.
. .
Audacity
Theatre Lab goes for something much more traditional with Brad McEntire's Arsenic
& Roses, directed by Jeff Hernandez.
Jeff
Swearingen plays Charles, a man who's down on his relationship luck and was
just dumped by his girlfriend of two months (the reason behind this is one of
the play's funnier revelations). He wanders into a diner on a rainy night, where
he meets waitress Katherine (Teresa Valenza).
Turns
out, they've met before. They dated in high school, and Katherine still harbors
resentment. They talk, fight and play "remember when," and if things seem familiar
to them, it's even more so for the audience. McEntire has a talent for the one-liners
("he thought a Persian rug was made of cat fur," Katherine says about a former
boyfriend), but this play feels like a work-in-progress. But, honestly, that's
another valid reason for producing in FIT—it's a fine testing ground.
Before
this show goes any further, though, Valenza has work to do. Her anger is not
believable and she talks too fast. Even in the small confines of the Bath House,
she needs to project.
Swearingen is great in a role that's less physical than
we're used to seeing from him, proving that he doesn't need to be outrageous
to maintain his status as one of—if not the—funniest actor in North Texas. Acting-wise,
this production is off-balance.
