Funny Wiess One-Acts may start slow, but they finish big

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RATING: * * * *

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by Jennifer Nuckles

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The first one-act play, entitled "Words, Words, Words," had a quirky script, and as one of the actors put it, "you'd have to have an I.Q. in the stratosphere to understand it."

Despite the strange plot that included chimpanzees writing literature in a scientific experiment, the actors in the one-act made this play worth watching. They obviously had worked very hard, and their efforts showed in their work. One actor in particular, Nate Heston, gave an engaging performance as a disgruntled primate out for justice. He was very animated and excited throughout the play, which made an odd script much more likable.

As the show progressed, the one-acts just kept getting better. "The Dopey Fairy Tale," although admittedly dopey, was really a very cute story with an even cuter moral at the end. The costumes looked great, especially considering that school has only been in session for five weeks. What really stood out in the play was a smart-mouthed dog named Chatter, played very well by Dawn Bennett. The dog, who had a New York accent, kept the audience laughing and always had perfect timing with the punchlines. The other actors, including Hilary Turner as the Sad Princess Gladys and Andy Clark as the Mayor, also delivered commendable performances.

"Variations on the Death of Trotsky" was one of the best of the one-acts. The storyline was ridiculous enough to be hilarious. Everyone in the commons was laughing. Ethan Schultz, who played the immortal Trotsky, was excellent. He was energetic and lively throughout the entire act and delivered all of the humor without missing a beat, even though an important prop fell off of his head right in the middle of the act. As Mrs. Trotsky, Merri Su Wilson played off of Schultz's timing, making herself a wonderful straight "man."

"A Tangled Snarl" should win the award for the one-act with the most potential. The script was smart and witty, and the plot was interesting. Grayson Morris played the lead character, Private Idaho, almost perfectly. Even without the great dialogue, his facial expressions were enough to keep the audience laughing.

The supporting cast performed well and Ethan Schultz showcased his talent, once again, as a gangster. The problem with this one-act is that the actors kept getting confused about their lines and doing the wrong scenes, but this problem will probably be long gone before the big performances. This play, without the mistakes, would have been absolutely hilarious.

The producers and the actors obviously worked hard to put on these one-acts, which is pretty amazing considering how little time they've had.

Although some of the scripts they chose were a little a silly, all in all they were very entertaining. All of the supporting actors did a good job, and the leading actors were terrific. The one acts are definitely worth a few hours of your time ... and anyway, who would want to miss seeing Dr. Hutchinson playing a dead body again, like he did last year?

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 29, 1995 issue.

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