{"id":106873,"date":"2023-11-09T19:18:31","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T03:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=106873"},"modified":"2023-11-09T19:34:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T03:34:03","slug":"murder-silliness-in-masquers-playhouses-zany-people-vs-mona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/murder-silliness-in-masquers-playhouses-zany-people-vs-mona\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder, silliness in Masquers Playhouse\u2019s zany ‘People vs. Mona’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The cast of Masquers Playhouse’s \u201cThe People vs. Mona\u201d includes, from left, Kamaria McKinney, Shay Oglesby-Smith, Steve Alesch, Arup Chakrabarti, Nelson Brown, Michele Sanner Vargas and Harrison Alter. (Courtesy Mark Decker)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe People vs. Mona,\u201d a zany musical comedy at the Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond,\u00a0deserves a needlepoint that labels it laugh-out-loud funny.<\/p>\n

Or silly, sillier, silliest.<\/p>\n

Because it can be tough to translate visual humor into the words of a review, it is suggested you get to a performance in the cozy (89-seat) theater to see for yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMona\u2019s\u201d <\/em>winning ingredients include exaggerated physical comedy and lyrics that evoke laughter almost every third line; music that ranges from country-rock to gospel (with a marching band tossed in for good measure); a multicultural cast of eight (half of whom play dual roles); a madcap plot by Patricia Miller that features a murder mystery (did Mona Mae Katt bludgeon her honeymooning husband to death with a glitzy guitar?), lots monkey business in the courtroom; and a touch of social commentary about changing an unobtrusive backwater town into a domicile for a shiny new casino.<\/p>\n

Enrico Banson, who seamlessly directs the 105-minute\u00a0\u201cMona\u201d and inserted tons of unexpected schtick, doubles as an extraordinary musical director who\u2019s onstage with his electronic keyboard throughout.<\/p>\n

Michele Sanner Vargas is outstanding in the title role, bringing audience glee with her over-the-top facial and body distortions, not to mention her proficiency twirling a baton. Yet that\u2019s topped by Kamaria McKinney, whose antics as Tish Thomas, a columnist and sex kitten, and blues singer Blind Willy, dare audience members not to\u00a0smile.<\/p>\n

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Michele Sanner Vargas plays the title role in \u201cThe People vs. Mona\u201d at Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond. (Courtesy Mark Decker)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Steve Alesch plays Officer Bell with a pseudo-operatic voice and a face so comically rubbery it\u2019s virtually impossible to look away even when there\u2019s another in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Harrison Alter portrays the ninety-something Euple R. Pugh with a flailing level of energy that can make any senior in the crowd jealous.<\/p>\n

And Nelson Brown as Mona\u2019s attorney and a hand-waving narrator who involves audience members in rising from their seats, muttering and getting rowdy, also turns in a five-star performance.<\/p>\n

The remainder of the cast \u2014 Shay Oglesby-Smith, Jeffrie Givens and Arup Chakrabarti \u2014 also deserves high praise, as does costume designer Mara Plankers Norleen, responsible for a terrific singing quartet of cats (caps with ears, gloves with fur and imprinted paws, bushy tails) and Mona\u2019s outstanding look with full-length sleeves that replicate tattooed arms and cowgirl boots decorated with butterflies.<\/p>\n

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Hamming it up in “Mona” are (from left) Arup Chakrabarti, Kamaria McKinney, Harrison Alter and Steve Alesch (Courtesy Mark Decker)<\/em><\/strong><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Choreographer Katherine Cooper has invented a series of ridiculous moves guaranteed to keep those grins coming.<\/p>\n

The production\u2019s location is Tippo, Georgia, in the Frog Pad, a honky-tonk owned by Mona that\u2019s the oldest juke joint in the state and spurring a tune spotlighting a chorus of \u201cRibbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show’s campy music and clever lyrics are by the Tony Award-nominated Jim Wann, the primary composer of \u201cPump Boys and Dinettes,\u201d a 1982 show that jet-streamed from downtown basements to Broadway (with a stopover off-Broadway) and spewed good-ole-boy wisdom via a county rock-pop score.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s exciting that the latest incarnation of\u00a0\u201cMona\u201d is\u00a0here. It would be hard to find an Actors\u2019 Equity show that\u2019s better.<\/p>\n

While more than few Bay Area theater companies have taken down their\u00a0curtains recently\u00a0due to rising costs and diminishing audiences triggered by continuing waves of COVID, \u201cMona\u201d proves that small, community theaters are not only still viable but can thrive while producing first-rate ensemble entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe People vs. Mona\u201d\u00a0runs through Nov. 26 at the Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $30 at (510) 232-4031 or\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/masquers.org.<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n