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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Spectrum 2026: A Festival of Short Plays
The costumes and sound and lights are all fine, too. But how are these fast, new, original (often wickedly intellectual) little shows possible? And, just as "relationship" must have at least six different meanings, how can everything here seem to be so connected to everything else? Plagiarizing my Chicago-self (whom I call "Brad"), I would say, "Brad, all these synergies are feeding off of one another!" On stage, Matt Anderson is the "Bunbury" of the evening, leading a far more extravagant sort of life than you or I could ever possibly dream of, at least in his own three flashy displays of comedy. But it's more polite to begin with the directors, Ms. Hagene and Ms. Ahmed, so here goes. Ms. Ahmed warms us up gradually at first, though things do begin flying in A Rose by Any Other Name by Ann E. Eskridge of Detroit, Michigan. An empty-nester couple (Dennis Calvin as Reginald and Julie George-Carlson as Cheryl) resolve to clean out a closet full of forgotten family items, but are stopped short when they unearth a mysterious old love poem. The actors are smooth and natural, and the story changes gear entirely when one of their sons (Austin Flynn as Jeremy) happens to pop in. A leopard-print thong and other eye-catching items are thrown into the air as the couple methodically digs deeper into a marriage of forgotten depths. And then A Cure for AIDS: 1995, directed by Ms. Hagene, will put you on unexpected alert. Garrett Bergfeld plays Heinz, an older man saying goodbye to his 40-year-old son, who's dying in a hospital bed over 30 years ago. An old childhood friend (Hal Morgan) arrives with startling news for the father, but the whole thing turns into an even more unsettling trap for Heinz, as he begins to realize his bad luck in a life of good intentions. If Rod Serling were alive today, he'd have been proud to have written such an elegant trap as this. Though in this case, the short play happens to have been penned by Paula Kamen of Evanston, Illinois. Joy Christina Turner and Lauren Rolf (as Gloria and Bea) meet at a cafe to discuss their new boyfriends in Double Date by Brad Slavik (the evening's producer). And finally, one of these male specimens shows up (Matt Anderson), though he's increasingly troublesome for both women. Mr. Anderson is marvelously, intensely detailed under the direction of Ms. Ahmed, for what could have been just a sketch comedy. Some actors show you a galaxy of external tricks and craft, but Mr. Anderson lets us peer all the way into the center of each of his great creations. And the two women on stage are aghast at the (increasingly funny) complexities of the modern world of dating. After intermission, Ms. Turner and Mr. Anderson return as two comical "bridge and tunnel" workers in a New York City museum, tasked with hanging a new painting. First-rate construction, and the nearly slap-happy nature of Bronx or Queens-style humor, goes rat-a-tat in Betta Than Meta, by Carl Maronich of Oak Park, Illinois, under the direction of Ms. Hagene. Ms. Turner proves an perfect match for Mr. Anderson, as they wrangle and wax poetic over the meaning of that artwork, and compare notes on each of their 10th anniversary work celebrations. Human Remains, by Marjorie Williamson of St. Louis and directed by Ms. Ahmed, is amazing and features Julie George-Carlson as an older woman (Mrs. McMaster) teaching needlepoint to a younger woman, Mouse (Lauren Rolf), in a very old house. Like the crafty performers on stage, Ms. Williamson makes the tiniest piercings in the fabric of our minds to weave a delicate story of love and money and jealousy. Ms. George-Carlson is prim and delightful as the wise older woman, mostly philosophical about the grotesque legend of the house. And Ms. Rolf is gently naive until she begins to see things in a different way. And I hope Taylor Swift doesn't set a team of dogs loose on the whole thing, but the final installment is Tortured Poet's Department by Mike McGeever of Bloomingdale, Illinois. It's gently awesome, with Mr. Bergfeld returning as William Shakespeare, and Gretta Forrester (who was so terrific in last year's Spectrum 2025) as Emily Dickinson. Ms. Rolf returns as Sylvia Plath, and Mr. Anderson makes for a delightfully Liverpudlian, John Lennon. Rachita Nikam plays a mortal poet calling in on the phone, charmingly searching for wisdom and affirmation from the great immortal authors at the other end of the line. As the Bard, Mr. Bergfeld gathers up his own considerable magnificence to hoist a human skull, like Yorick's, from time to time (the actor is one of our own local "recovering Hamlets"). And he briefly savors every chance, like fine perfume, to throw his best lines in the face of each of the others in their purgatory-like call center. I think it's funnier if you've enjoyed following Mr. Bergfeld for 40 years as I have. But even if you haven't, it's still pretty funny. It's a big crazy mess, though the set changes are remarkably fast between the one-acts. And you'll never look down your nose again at a "demolition derby" once you've gone through all this. Or maybe the collision of ideas and styles and meanings feels more like discovering your new favorite restaurant, with all your favorite dishes, reconfigured in new ways. Either way, the metaphors are apt to be mixed. Spectrum 2026: A Festival of Short Plays, produced by First Run Theatre, runs through March 8, 2026, at The Chapel on Alexander, 6238 Alexander Drive, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.firstruntheatre.org. A Rose By Any Other Name, Written by Ann E. Eskridge, Directed by Shahnaz Ahmed A Cure for AIDS: 1995, Written by Paula Kamen, Directed by Jude Hagene Double Date, Written by Bradford Slavik, Directed by Shahnaz Ahmed Betta Than Meta, Written by Carl Maronich, Directed by Jude Hagene Human Remains, Written by Marjorie Williamson, Directed by Shahnaz Ahmed Tortured Poets Department, Written by Mike McGeever, Directed by Jude Hagene Additional Credits: |
