(l-r) Craig Marker and Marco Barricelli
GAME ON: Comedy by Dan Hoyle and Tony Taccone. Directed by Rick Lombardo. San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose. (408) 367-7255. www.sjrep.com.
Through April 19, 2014
GAME ON hits a three bagger [rating:3] (3 of 5 stars)
Dan Hoyle and Tony Taccone are sort of strange bedfellows when it comes to playwriting. That statement is not intended to denigrate their individual theatrical accomplishments. Taccone is multi-award winning artistic director for Berkeley Rep and Hoyle is an award winning solo performer. Individually they have had their other plays produced garnering good to fair reviews. The story behind how these two got together to write a comedy/farce that combines fantasy baseball, global warming, venture capitalism, high cost of medical care and entomophagy would make fascinating reading.
To spare you the chore of having to look up the pronunciation and meaning of ‘entomophagy’: en·to·moph·a·gy is the practice of eating insects and the word first appeared in the English lexicon in 1975. It will now be recognized in MS Word spell checker. The practice, according to the press notes, is common in most cultures especially in Asia. The insects are an excellent source of protein.
Two men with diametrically opposite personalities are peddling a proposition to a venture capitalist to back the formation of a company fostering entomophagy. With global warming and the scarcity of water upsetting the natural order of the world there will be a need to have alternate sustainable source of protein to replace the reliance on beef. The concept is brainchild of divorced charismatic taxi driver Vinnie (Marco Barricelli) and his cohort pushing the deal is a slick numbers-cruncher Alvin (Craig Marker). The bond between the men is their addiction to fantasy-baseball.
The local angle for this world premiere is the proximity of Silicon Valley and the intense rivalry between SF Giants and LA Dodgers baseball clubs. The action takes place in an elegant spare room (set by John Iacovelli) of a mansion in Los Altos where a party is underway that includes a billionaire financier. Vinnie has brought along spring rolls filled with insect delicacies. While they are waiting for Alvin to make the pitch (get the baseball reference?) the two erstwhile entrepreneurs indulge in bickering about making trades for players on their fantasy baseball teams. Television projections of a baseball game intermittently are flashed on the back wall.
Barricelli and Marker are two of the most sought after actors in the Bay Area. They do not disappoint with Barricelli giving life to an ebullient Vinnie and Marker’s Alvin keeping him in check with his sincerity. They are a joy to watch since the roles are antithesis of previous dramatic outings demonstrating their talents in comedy/ farce.
The play starts out as a routine comedy, dabbles in socio-economic themes and personal medical/monetary problems before it ends in all out farce in its 90 minute (no intermission). Marker’s Alvin has to dissolve into a histrionic panic attack before the dénouement. The intrepid duo is ably supported by Mike Ryan (Bob), Nisi Sturgis (Beth) and Cassidy Brown (Glen) with Brown taking control of the stage in a hysterical if implausible defender of world ecology.
Yes, Vinnie and Alvin do not get their windfall but the ever inventive Vinnie comes up with a scheme that involves ‘over and under’ betting on when individual devastations of global warming will occur. The trip from San Francisco to San Jose was well worth the drive and this reviewer learned about fantasy baseball, venture capitalism, ‘over and under’ betting and finally en•to•moph•a•gy.
CAST: Vinnie, Marco BarriceI1i; Alvin, Craig Marker; Bob, Mike Ryan; Glen, Cassidy Brown; Beth Nisi Sturgis.
Artistic Collaborators: Scenic Designer John lacovelli; Costume Designer Denitsa Bliznakova; Lighting Designer David Lee Cuthbert; Sound Designer Rick Lombardo; Original Music Haddon Kime; Casting Director Kirsten Brandt; Drarnaturg Karen Altree Piemme; Stage Manager Laxmi Kumaran, Assistant Stage Manager Deirdre Rose Holland.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
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