Review: Local playwrights offer a taste of empathy and self-driving cars

Paul Babin, Contributing Writer
·2 min read

What is it: An eclectic mix of plays that make up “One Act Wednesday.”

Written by: “A Period Piece” by Susan Lumenello, “Tainted” by Tom Piccin, “New Horizons” by Mike Nolan, “Autonauts” by Jim Marlow, “Billy Buckner” by Mike Solomowitz, “Plumeria Poison” by MC Kenney, and “God Save the Queen” by Jane Hattemer-Stringer

What it’s about: A middle aged woman shares the bloody details about her menstrual cycles. An exasperated playwright is plagued by her own characters who seem to have minds of their own. A beleaguered older couple can’t get their self-driving car to start because the car’s artificial intelligence system only understands the most basic commands. A husband-to-be learns to let down his guard and empathize with other people thanks to an unlikely visitor.

Liz Argo and Mike Barry as an older couple trying to negotiate with their self-starting car.
Liz Argo and Mike Barry as an older couple trying to negotiate with their self-starting car.

See it or not: These local playwrights don’t disappoint. Despite a few wooden performances, the plays sprang to life on opening night, which I primarily attribute to each writer’s masterful dialogue. Solomowitz’s “Billy Buckner” might be the best of the bunch. Set the morning after the infamous 1986 World Series game that ended with Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner’s legendary error, it’s about a narcissistic Mets fan named Harry who, much to his fiance’s chagrin, cannot empathize with Buckner’s plight. Harry’s subtle transformation from a selfish curmudgeon to an empathetic husband-to-be is eerily convincing.

Richard Wilbur, Delaney Sump and Branden Prentiss in an offering from "One-Act Wednesdays."
Richard Wilbur, Delaney Sump and Branden Prentiss in an offering from "One-Act Wednesdays."

Fun Fact: “One Act Wednesdays” is the first entry in the Academy of Performing Arts’ “Festival of Community Voices,” a program of shows celebrating local talent. Other shows include “Black Comedy” by Nauset Honors Acting, a 24-hour play festival, and productions of “Love Letters,” “The Girl With the Long Stemmed Roses” and “Somewhere Beyond the Sea.”

Highlights: Celeste Howe delivers a sometimes funny, sometimes gut-wrenching performance as Ruby, the loquacious protagonist of Lumenello’s “A Period Piece.” Ruby isn’t afraid to look back and laugh at the time she had a heavy period in high school and the blood leaked onto her chair in science class. But as delivered by Howe, some of those laughs stick in Ruby’s throat. Howe makes the character as funny as she is vulnerable.

Worth Noting: Mike Barry and Liz Argo are hysterically funny as Marvin and Clara, the older couple who struggle to start their self-driving car in “Autonaughts.” When Clara laments that “All technology has its foibles,” I found myself nodding with recognition.

One more thing: “Tainted” left me breathless. It may seem like a traditional Whodunit at first, but the ending is altogether shocking. I won’t soon forget it.

If you go: 7 p.m. March 8 and 15 at The Academy of Performing Arts, 120 Main St, Orleans, $25 and $15 for students, www.academyplayhouse.org/.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape playwrights offer their take, from self-driving cars to empathy