Document text
1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW HEALTH ... Entry signs, marijuana tax top council agenda ... University exchange student program participants thrive ... HEALTH ... Entry signs, marijuana tax top council agenda ... University exchange student program participants thrive ... THEATER REVIEW Review: "Love, Lust and Chocolate Cake" is rich with optimism about romance Comment By Jeffrey Gillespie for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie for the Tidings Posted Feb. 14, 2016 at 7:24 PM By Jeffrey Gillespie for the Tidings Posted Feb. 14, 2016 at 7:24 PM » Social News "Love, Lust and Chocolate Cake" Written by Darlene Ensor, Diane Nichols, Cathy Noah and Cynthia Rogan Directed by Various "Love, Lust, and Chocolate Cake" is an ambitious comedic undertaking by a new theater company on the block. Billing themselves as Fourfun Productions, they are a contagiously enthusiastic group, made up of Darlene Ensor, Diane Nichols, Cathy Noah and Cynthia Rogan, under-girded by a troupe of rambunctious community thespians too numerous to mention here. The production (which is made up of five individual short plays) was convivial, diverting and played about as broadly as is humanly possible by a gang of actors who seemed as delighted to be involved as the audience was at their antics. The first play, titled "The Breakup", is set in the Garden of Eden, where Eve is tired of Adam's lack of romanticism since they had their little run-in with the Snake. Reassuring indeed to find that Mars and Venus are still separate planets, even when one is taking a biblical perspective. Adam doesn't know how to listen to his betrothed. He's forgotten her middle name, as well as her favorite color. Eve is ready to split for God knows where, but seems willing to stick it out, at least for the afternoon, since there aren't that many available men to be had in the first two chapters of Genesis. Adam, while struggling to make something happen with two sticks, seems entirely incapable of bonding with his mate, except when it comes to sex. He knows he loves sex, and that's about all he does know. Fortunately for the two, when Eve takes charge, they manage to get their acts together sufficient to make fire — literally, and then figuratively. While Diane Nichols' take on prehistoric romance is a little heavy on the gender cliches, she can be forgiven. After all, we're dealing with the original prototypes. Lucky for all of us, Adam and Eve stay together, and keep on getting it on. In "Smeck (sic), Smack, Baker's Man", the second play of the night, playwright Cathy Noah takes us to 1940's New York City, where private eye Dick Sixkiller is asleep at his desk (and, one gets the impression, perhaps also sleepwalking through life), when a complicated dame named Maggie stops by. Apparently her father, a humble baker, has been captured by mafioso bosses, bent on harming the hapless doughpuncher. Sixkiller falls for the girl, and is off to get his man. The actors play things broadly and for laughs, complete with ironic glances toward the audience (and trombone slides from offstage) when romance is in the air. When the MacGuffin appears in the form of a wedding cake packed with heroin, we realize that all is not as it seems. Throw in a couple of thugs and one senescent secretary, and the slap manages to stick. In play three, Diane Nichols' "Scoring Points", we meet the bemused and henpecked Walter, who is doing his best to woo his beloved, Meredith. Trouble is, Walter can't compete with Meredith's first love, the Seattle Seahawks. She has a special relationship with football, and less so with Walter, who can't get Meredith away from the television sufficient to celebrate their six month anniversary. In an action reminiscent of The Odd Couple, Walter is trussed up in a suit and ready to present a ring, while the vociferous Meredith can think only of the big game. Love does, with a little compromise, eventually conquer all, and the pair reach an amorous understanding — if only during the commercial breaks. In play four, Cynthia Rogan introduces us to "A Couple of Nuts". The recently widowed Esther has become something of a shut-in, until her friend Sheila persuades her to go to funerals as a means of lifting the spirit. Esther is hesitant at first, but embraces the idea, and is soon a regular on the mourning circuit. Fate is presaged by a series of puzzled family members of the assorted deceased, and the wheel of fortune stops in front of Esther in the form of a benevolent cake enthusiast and fellow wake-tourist named Drew. It eventually comes to light that Drew was a colleague and friend of Esther's late husband, and, by way of a box in Drew's possession, Esther finds out that her husband loved her more than she knew, and with that realization, finds new peace and purpose. In the final play of the night, Darlene Ensor's "Welcome to Hallmart", we meet Betty and Lucy, two working girls getting down to business in a card shop on Valentine's Day. Betty is the put-upon, but more balanced, of the two, and she suffers the slings and arrows of various outraged and outrageous customers with perspective and grace. Lucy, the younger of the two shopkeepers, is all eye-rolls and condescension in her dealings with assorted customers. She is raging against the indignity of this perceived Hallmark holiday, and doesn't care who knows it. Redemption arrives in the form of a bouquet of flowers from her latest boyfriend. The mood shifts and we are left feeling optimistic about love — whether it be young or old. With sixteen participating artists, this critic does not have enough column space to mention everyone; the standout performances of the evening came from Pam Ward as Esther, whose face was a garden of memory and regret as she dealt with the reality of losing a spouse. The other commendation goes to David Dials, who was a key presence in all of the plays but one. He is clearly the hardest working man in this show-business. The Fourfun troupe can be credited for doing an enormous amount with very little. Working out of a borrowed theater, they managed to pack the house. "Love, Lust, and Chocolate Cake" was a fun evening of community theater. We should look forward to what else this frisky foursome might have in store for us on down the road. By Jeffrey Gillespie for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie for the Tidings Posted Feb. 14, 2016 at 7:24 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501