L-R: Stuart (Justin Toomey), Cow (Peter Graybeal), Mindy (Bridgitte Teresa Kreuz)
by Danielle Filas
O.G. Productions debuts with the whimsically titled Cow Tipping and Other Love Stories, a collection of one acts performed at MadLab under a mission statement that simply reads, “Chaos is guaranteed.” The five short pieces range in flavor from goofy to sublime, showcasing uneven writing but extremely strong acting throughout.
John Kessler’s opening piece, “Cap’n Fashion,” is really nothing more than a silly sketch set in a clothing store inhabited by a pirate salesman (Kessler) who speaks in stereotypical arrghs and ayes while tormenting unsuspecting customers. Director Amanda Bauer and her nine person cast seem to have as much (or more) fun playing the scene as the audience does watching it. As an opener, though, it works to warm up the crowd for some of the evening’s more challenging and more successful pieces.
Next comes “An Afternoon While in the Easy Chair,” a dramatic one act that stars Jennifer Nitri as Pamela, the imaginary daughter whom Martin (Stephen Woosley) might have adopted, had life not gotten in the way. Under Jason Sudy’s subtle direction, both actors tackle Scott Tobin’s two-person scene with refreshing simplicity. The script itself explores a typically under-discussed situation with depth and simple honesty, all in less than eight minutes. Elegantly written, the short seems fully realized and ultimately well-done.
Situating Stephen Woosley’s “To Russia With Love” between the two stronger pieces of the evening proves that O.G. knows a little something about how to set up a strong running order. This wobbly sketch features an all-female cast playing supposed WNBA stars stranded in a Russian airport. Unfortunately, Woosley (who also directs) devolves his characters into unlikable and unbelievable caricatures: a floozy pregnant woman, the slutty beauty queen, a pushy hot head, the stuck up superstar, the crazy Iraqi vet, and an idiotic coach. Picking on the WNBA (and on Iraqi vets, for that matter) seems a sad choice- especially given the league’s struggles for validation and even more especially given the NBA’s recent scandals. Fortunately, the talented women make the low-brow scene (complete with a fart joke) somewhat watchable.
“Maybe Tomorrow” by Andy Batt serves as the evening’s finest actor vehicle, utilizing John Kessler as Wayne and Vicki Adronis as his sister Georgia. The one act opens with an unstable Wayne considering suicide, a consideration that has become a part of the character’s everyday routine. The severity of his mental illness intensifies when his estranged sister arrives wanting to discuss the suspicious circumstances of their parents’ death. Amanda Bauer directs Kessler and Adronis through their paces in this ultimately gut-wrenching scene, ably drawing a surreal world with a surprising and creepy ending that leaves the audience absolutely silent as the lights fade.
The evening’s titular piece, “Cow Tipping,” features the mercurial Bridgitte Teresa Kreuz playing Mindy, a nervous former mental patient anxiously meeting her ex whom she dated while hospitalized. Justin Toomey plays the charmingly over-medicated Stuart who has asked to meet Mindy in order to mend fences after their break-up, which involved some sort of incident with a baseball bat. Over pizza and with the help of a cheery waitress (Becky Horseman), Mindy and Stuart navigate through their various disorders and neuroses toward a genuine affection for each other- an affection that the audience roots to succeed in spite of a growing pile of stuffed cows (and a tuxedoed man-cow played by Peter Graybeal) that threatens to scare Mindy away from her shot at love. Amanda Bauer and Stephen Woosley wrote and directed this droll one act that ends the evening on a warm and quirky note.
Augmenting the scene work and definitely worth mentioning, emcee Travis Hoewischer provides witty and self-deprecating banter, vamping as the actors hustle behind him to complete scene changes to the simple set. His easy, personable style of introducing the works adds a great deal to the overall tone of the evening. Cow Tipping and Other Love Stories delivers about forty minutes of quality theatre in just over one hour. The production runs through January 30, Fridays and Saturdays at MadLab Theatre and Gallery, 105 N. Grant Ave., Columbus. Tickets cost $10. For more information, see the listing in the Columbus Theatre Calendar, visit MadLab’s website, or call and reserve tickets at 614-221-5418.
*****
Danielle Filas serves as a contributing editor to Theatre Vault. She recently moved from Chicago and holds Theatre degrees from Northwestern University and Knox College. You can visit her personal blog by clicking here.