Sex is, quite simply put, funny. When you have five couples in five bedrooms, under the direction of Damaso Rodriguez and the producer powers of the beloved Del Shores… you, no doubt, have five times the fun.
The Boomerang Effect is making a second go at it, at the Zephyr Theatre in West Hollywood, through July 27th, giving all of us who missed it at The Odyssey Theatre over a year ago, one more chance for an evening of chuckles and guffaws.
Set up as a series of five interconnected shorts, many if not all types of relationships and/or issues are represented. We have the loser Trader Joe’s bagger who can’t refrain from answering birthday texts while his (unbeknownst to him) pregnant girlfriend questions the wisdom in her choice of partner. There’s a couple experiencing some sexual incompatibility issues with the potential solutions coming from well-meaning but not-so-wise best friends. We have the (seemingly obligatory) opposites attract gay couple that have lost the loving feeling as one is uninspired and unemployed and the other tires from the uneven responsibility of bringing home the bacon. There’s also the slimy old businessman who threatens the job of a low-level new-to-the-company Barbie Doll beauty if she doesn’t sleep with him. And last but not least we have the after office party one night stand, which is a dream come true (after puking in the toilet) for one of the party’s involved and a never-going-to-happen-again fiasco for the other married contributor.
While the plot won’t change your life nor bring about epiphanies in your own relationships… and you may or may not enjoy the “boomerang effect” way of presenting one story after the next, returning to each couple in reverse order on the way back… there is no denying it’s a good time.
Matthew Leavitt (playwright) has got a knack for the one-liners. His ultra current words and banter will not only hold your interest, but will completely amuse you. He may be guilty of occasionally handing a hilarious line to someone that may seem out of character for the sake of using a clever joke, but honestly, I didn’t care. I needed a good laugh and some light-hearted fun, and that’s exactly what I got.
The cast of ten was awfully strong. Here they are: http://www.boomerangeffectplay.com/cast. I happened to attend the show on a Friday night, a notoriously tough night for theatre actors with a typically tired audience to contend with, and the theatre wasn’t packed. Challenging stuff. They handled it like champs. They didn’t push or head straight over the top, which is often the response to a small, quiet audience… killing the funny. Instead, they waited patiently as the audience slowly came along. Bravo. Mr. Rodriguez should be complimented for setting the perfect comic pace. I wasn’t, however, as impressed with the staging. It lacked variation from couple to couple and didn’t fully use the space. Not a deal breaker by any stretch. The set (John Lacovelli) was simple and adequate, lighting (Brian Gale) and costumes (T. Ashanti Mozelle) totally fine. The real winners here are the cast, director, producer, and playwright. And when they win, you win. Go see this delightfully contemporary and amusing show.
Zephyr Theatre,
7456 Melrose Ave West Hollywood.
8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays
Ends July 27. $20-$25
(800) 595-4849 www.tix.com.
How long? 1 hour, 40 minutes.
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