Three distinct shows share the bill at the Actors Gang this month; In Recovery, Nun Fight, and 16 Summers, each a unique piece of work.
The evening begins with In Recovery, a funny idea very nicely fleshed out by the cast (and the costumes.) Putting a real-life style of psychologist (Guebri Van Over) in with a crowd of storybook characters like Little Red Riding Hood (Zoe Molina,) Pinocchio ( Jimmy Berry,) and Goldilocks (Jolene Hjerleid,) to discuss trauma recovery creates many funny moments along with interesting insights. Most of those fairy tales are pretty challenging stuff; it’s no wonder those cute little characters need help.
Nun Fight is also topped up with religious folklore – in addition to nuns and a priest, there’s a dancing devil and an appearance by the divine – it’s very clever comedy twists breath a bit of fresh air into what might be just cliche. Slapstick and gothic at the same time, it does both for belly laughs.
16 Summers is the real centerpiece of the evening, a short one man show focused on coming of age, and seeing parents as people. Ayinde Howell, directed by Gloria Isabel Briseno, starts with the discovery of sex and ends with death, a very complete sweep of maturation. The interactive portions of the show, asking the audience to help define manhood, gave an easy back and forth with the narrator, and opened even more reflection on what we strive for, and what we think that is. Ayinde plays DJ with a sound machine, amplifying his voice and creating echoes, rapping a few parts of the dialogue, bringing in the sound of other people into the story. It’s quite a story, being raised by a vegan, Rastafarian father running a convenience store, moving to New York to break into the big time, and then moving back home again. Ayinde is wonderful storyteller, and the autobiography beings us into sympathy with all the tales he tells.
More Miracles runs at the Actors’ Gang through Feb. 21. For tickets go to actorsgang.com, or click on the ad on this page.
Judith Martin-Straw
