By Megan Richardson
Arts Editor


Last Saturday night, the Bates College productions that will be performing in the CBB One Act festival next weekend put on their first preview performances of their shows. The plays revealed a wide variety of talents here at Bates and made for a great evening of entertainment.

The first play to be performed was The Problem, directed by Brian Pfohl and starring Andrew Walenga and Megan Fortin as Husband and Wife in a twisted tale of adultery, impersonation, and confusion. At the opening of the play, the Wife reveals to her husband that she is very pregnant, a fact that he, until then, hadn’t noticed. The two then reveal surprise after surprise about themselves and their behaviors, finally culminating in a fantastic surprise ending. Both actors showed a humorous sense of detachment from the situation at hand, making the play intriguing and, most of all, fun.

The second play, Killing the Joke, was absolutely hilarious. Written and directed by Bates students James Getomer and Jon Horowitz, who also starred in the production, it was completely original and perfectly acted. In the play, Amelia Earhart (played by Amanda Grillo), who has faked her own death at the height of her fame, convinces a series of other celebrities to do the same, including Harry Carey (Horowitz), Tupac Shakur (Amber Harris), Dave Thomas (Ian Fontaine), and Steamboat Willie (Scott Cooper). The celebrities form a secret society that meets in “fine dining establishments” such as Chili’s, and in the course of the play try to convince Sean Connery (Getomer) to join them. Some of the funniest performances included Dave Thomas with his random Wendy’s advertisements thrown in throughout, Harry Carey and Tupac doing their own rap, and Chet (Alex Teague), a non-celebrity loser who caught on to their scheme and blackmailed the group into making him a member. The play was pure humor from start to finish, and showed a great deal of acting, writing, and directing talent.

The third and final play of the evening was Passionella, directed by Andrew Haserlat. The night’s only musical, this show gave us singing, dancing, and glamour, as well as great acting and an adorable love story. It starred Christine Beckwith as Ella, a poor, lonely chimney sweep who dreams of becoming a beautiful, glamorous movie star. Complete with flannel shirt and dirty broom, Ella works hard but keeps dreaming away, until one day, after being fired from her job, she is magically transformed into Passionella, a gorgeous, talented girl who is sure to make it in Hollywood. The only catch is that she is only this radiant beauty for a few hours of the night, and thus must use her time wisely. Beckwith shimmies her way across the stage as Passionella, singing beautifully and dancing her way into the life Ella always dreamed of, finding fame and eventually falling in love with Flip (Michael Williams), otherwise known as “the Prince” Charming. The vocal and dance ensemble, made up of Will Armstrong, Andrew Haserlat, Emily Cohen-Shikora, Carrie Curtis, Carolyn Greco, Ryan Griffin, Curt Lyford, and Sidney Walker, adds tremendously to the performance, helping to give a real sense of glamour and the new life that Ella is leading. The play also has the fabulous speaking voice of Brad Oriel, who narrates Ella’s story with a seriousness that adds to the overall humor of the play. It was well done overall, and the musical performances were lively and fun to watch.

All three plays are sure to be successful at the festival, which will take place next weekend. The One Act festival will officially be next Friday, March 5, and Saturday, March 6, at 8:00 P.M. in Gannett Theater. Be sure to catch the shows then if you missed them this weekend - you won’t regret it!





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