Man Down Productions
& Planet Connections Theatre Festivity
present

WHY BOTHER?
An Evening of Short Plays
,
Directed by ANDREW BLOCK

Keeping Pace
By ROBIN ROTHSTEIN
Featuring
THOM CHRISTENSEN & JOEY GAMBETTA

Crazy at Heart
By MARK JASON WILLIAMS
Featuring STEVEN DeLUCA & KATHY SEARLE

Illuminati
By JOHN POLLONO
Featuring
THOM CHRISTENSEN, DANA DOMENICK, & JOHN GAZZALE

Doll Play
By TONY GLAZER
Featuring
SCOTT AIELLO, BRIAN J. CARTER, & SIMON PEARL

Lighting Design: SCOTT FETTERMAN
Stage Manager: RACHEL APRIL
Press Representative: JT-PR, JOE TRENTACOSTA

Paradise Factory
64 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
www.planetconnections.org
May 14, 2014 through June 1, 2014

KEEPING PACE is true to its title. Two buddies on treadmills, talking guy stuff. One announces he has quit his day job, now that he is getting paid acting work. He just finished a shoot on a TV show and feels jazzed about his success. His pal is just a little behind in his acting career. He did get a callback for a play. Didn’t get the part, though. He’s thinking of moving to Los Angeles with his new girlfriend who’s also headed that way. His successful buddy has found a girlfriend, too, it turns out. The ‘real deal’, he says. He’s planning a long-term serious relationship. As the one-upmanship goes back and forth, the treadmill speeds go faster and slower, accordingly. The more information they share, the more extreme the treadmill speeds, until the insanely funny climax.

CRAZY AT HEART brings a depressed, angry actor to the “sanctuary” of a therapist he found on Groupon. This may not be the best solution to his issues, but it’s a start. Maybe. The obsessive-compulsive manic therapist, credentials unknown, appears to be, for lack of a more clinical word, cuckoo herself. The actor rants and raves about being gay and having only one-night stands all his life. She takes notes, tells him sharply to watch his language, and, at intervals, voices her own meandering off-topic thoughts. He threatens to walk out. She insists he needs more “treatments”. At their next session, he is beyond worse. She’s still cuckoo. Their interaction brings into question just who is the “therapist” here? If anyone. KATHY SEARLE steals this play. She hits the perfect balance for this totally unbalanced character, bringing laugh after laugh.

ILLUMINATI has a different tone. Candace, looking every bit the dominatrix, is changing into an even more outrageous costume during the intermission of her play. She is the star, dahling. Her boyfriend is her co-star, director, and playwright. A clueless rube walks into her dressing room. Oh, it’s her brother, who fell off the turnip truck from Boston, if Boston has turnip trucks. He’s well dressed, but symbolism is beyond his skill set. Candace tries to explain, but is not getting through. Enter the boyfriend, an over-the-top pretentious artiste type, clothed in red devil wings and an adult diaper, raving on about the spectacular performance. Conflicts intensify. A big key to laughs in this play is the costumes. Never mentioned and unobtrusive, pay attention.

DOLL PLAY is the funniest of all, hands-down. Three guys, two of them trying to give sex ed to their friend. They need a blow-up doll. No, wait. They can use what they already have on hand: the world’s largest, fuzziest, sweetest, floppiest, most darling and innocent stuffed animal toy ever seen on this planet. I do not exaggerate. The audience was choking with laughter. Playwright TONY GLAZER has created an uproarious masterpiece not to be missed.

-Karen D’Onofrio-