REVIEW

By CLIFF ADAMS

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) – A backyard birthday party led to a mental hospital. An auction house dissolved to Florence, Italy. Audiences were taken on a trip to various settings during the season-ending one-act plays presented by the UCM Department of Theatre and Dance April 27-29. Stage props were plentiful throughout the evening’s production, transforming the BlackBox Theatre in Nickerson Hall from one setting to the next.

Author Shel Silverstein’s “Best Daddy Ever” topped the bill. This play was originally produced as part of “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” by the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City on Sept. 9, 2001. Emmy Panzica directed the play.

In the play, Lisa is celebrating her birthday with her father when he pranks her multiple times. Dad, played by Michael Miller, fools Lisa, played by Sam Devin, into thinking that he shot her pony and her sister. Devin was effective in portraying Lisa’s emotional responses to the cruel pranks.

“Baby Talk” by Doug Wright was next on the bill. This play is set in a modern day mental hospital where Alice, played by Marisa Perry, is a pregnant woman gripping to sanity when her baby begins speaking to her while still in the womb. Bryson Kenworthy directed the play and Steven Covert played the baby. Covert wowed the audience with his loony facial expressions and intense acting. Brooke Myers played the psychiatrist, while Austin Hook played the husband. The cast was very cohesive, offering a level of team acting that had yet to be seen during this season’s one-acts.

Following a short intermission, another Doug Wright play hit the stage titled “Lot 13: The Bone Violin.” Staying in present day, the audience was taken to an auction house, where an amazing violin prodigy launches to international fame before meeting a supernatural fate. Stephanie Laaker directed the play. Kaelyn Whitt starred as the mother. Whitt dominated the stage with convincing emotional acting that had audiences locked on to her. At times, the play contained dialogue from multiple people that heightened the tension. Caleb Gazaway played the father; Nate Weber played the professor; Leah Eggimann played the doctor; and Chris Scott played the auctioneer. I felt this was Gazaway’s third impressive performance, in as many plays, this season.

The evening concluded with Terrance McNally’s “Full Frontal Nudity.” This play was set in modern day Florence, Italy. “Full Frontal Nudity” explores the reaction of three American tourists to the beauty and mystique of Michelangelo’s “David.” Nicholas Pogue gave a confident performance as Leo. Sam Wells played Hector; Danielle Sachse played Lana; and Nina Lopez played Bimbi. Lopez energized the audience with a lively performance that capped off the bill.

Studio Theatre One-Acts in the Nickerson BlackBox Theatre will resume in the fall.

Photos by Cliff Adams
Sam Devin plays Lisa during Shel Silverstein’s “Best Daddy Ever” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox. Michael Miller, playing her father, stands in the background.

Dad, played by Michael Miller, taunts Lisa, played by Sam Devin, during “Best Daddy Ever” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox.

Marisa Perry starring as Alice, left, laughs as she hears her unborn baby speak to her during “Baby Talk” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox. Steven Covert, center, plays the baby; Austin Hook, right, plays the husband.

Steven Covert, playing the baby, sits next to a smiling Alice, played by Marisa Perry, during “Baby Talk” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox.

Caleb Gazaway, right, plays the father during “Lot 13: The Bone Violin” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox. Nate Weber, center, plays the professor; Chris Scott, background, plays the auctioneer.

Nate Weber, playing the professor, has a solemn moment during “Lot 13: The Bone Violin” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox. Leah Eggiman provided dialogue as the doctor.

Kaelynn Whitt, playing the mother, pauses from discussion during “Lot 13: The Bone Violin” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox. Caleb Gazaway, playing the father, speaks in the background.

Caleb Gazaway, right, stars as the father morning over his lost child during “Lot 13: The Bone Violin” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox. Leah Eggiman, center, plays the doctor; Nate Weber, left, plays the professor.

Sam Wells, playing Hector, reacts to Michelangelo’s “David” during “Full Frontal Nudity” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox.

Nicholas Pogue, left, reacts to Michelangelo’s “David” as his character Leo during “Full Frontal Nudity” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox . Nina Lopez, center, plays Bimbi; and Sam Wells, right, plays Hector.

Nicholas Pogue, playing Leo, smiles as he admires Michelangelo’s “David” during “Full Frontal Nudity” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox. Danielle Sachse plays Lana.

Nina Lopez, playing Bimbi, has a moment of serious contemplation as she looks at Michelangelo’s “David” during “Full Frontal Nudity” at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s One-Acts in Nickerson BlackBox.