Having settled into a new more elegant home and moved from Marathon Weekend in the middle of April to the third weekend in May, the 8th annual Boston Theatre Marathon--fifty ten-minute plays presented in ten hours--showed signs of improvement over last year. There's still some regret that each playlet is now done only once, and questions remain about the openness of script selection, but since one important aim of the event is adding to the coffers of StageSource's Theatre Community Benevolent Fund, attracting the largest paying audience is a primary concern. The event remains the largest single gathering for Boston's theatre community, bringing actors, directors, and volunteers from throughout the area together to present mostly new work by local playwrights. Since BTM's inception, interest in and the number of short play festivals has increased, spreading to community groups in the suburbs.
This year's "run" started with a mock-opera, "Mal Canto" by Robert Bonotto, featuring Sarah DeLima and Robert Saoud with Jeffrey Goldberg at the piano, and wound up with "She's Fabulous," a comic duet written for Ellen Colton and Bobbie Steinbach by Jack Neary. Along the way, there was "Black Irish," a sketch written and performed by Richard Snee with his wife, Paula Plum. Plum also appeared as the harried traveler in Robert Brustein's sketch, "Airport Hell," directed by David Wheeler. Gloucester's Israel Horowitz annual contribution was "Inconsolable" featuring Melinda Lopez, while from the Vineyard Jon Lipsky supplied "Belly of the Whale" where Lopez appeared opposite Will Lyman. Ed Bullins supplied an excerpt from "One for the Road," directed by Jacqui Parker of Our Place Theatre while the company of Rough & Tumble compressed the first half of "Hinterlands; Season One," which they're currently running in the Calderwood Rehearsal Hall into ten minutes.
John Kuntz' "Oscar" was performed by Pilgrim's Kevin Dunkelberg decorated with temporary tattoos. Ted Reinstein contributed a political sketch "Fine!" with Barlow Adamson as a fledgling gay political candidate being coached by Sean McGuirk and interviewed by Ilyse Robbins, directed by Spiros Veloudos. Company One's Shawn LaCount directed Kirsten Greenidge's oblique "Maybe They're Wrong" about a strange youngster. Half the cast of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband," about to open at the Wellesley Summer Theatre, took part in Megan Maile Green's "Theology Class" under Nora Hussey's direction. Nathaniel McIntyre, again appearing in several plays, was a frightening Iraq War vet in Andrea Kennedy's "Bobby Came Home," while Vince Siders, back in town briefly was a troubled painter in Jon Shanahan's "Brushstroke" opposite Jeff Gill. Debra Wise and her daughter, Eliza Rose Fichter, who've both been Marathon regulars, played an emotional "mother versus surrogate mother" scene in Patrick Gabridge's "Stop Rain."
Solo pieces included Janet Kenney's "Weight", harking back to Rosie the Riveter, ably performed by Ellen Peterson, directed by Stoneham's Caitlin Lowans, and J.K.Walsh's "Huma's Loom," a piece about Afghanistan performed by Cristi Miles directed by Adam Zahler. David Rabinow's political sketch "Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman" featuring Valerie Madden might as well have been a solo show. Marathon regulars doing several shows included Helen McElwain who showed up in George Sauer's "Miss Marple Attends a Matinee" and Leslie Harrell Dillen's "Brain Surgery." Her partner in the latter, Robert Murphy, appeared in Ernest Thompson's political fantasy, "American Terrorist." Robert Najarian, from the latter, showed up in Christopher King's "A Ticklish Situation." Richard McElvain, who directed Vanessa David's "Early Dismissal," took a minor role there, and was one of four poker players in "Vinnie's Vision" by Jim Gordon where Nat McIntyre has the title role.
Interesting sentimental performances were turned in by Greg Raposa and Irene Daley in David Ervin's "The Tree Thing." Ariel Francouer had the title role in Jason Wilkins' "Kickass Librarian", a somewhat political sketch done by the Portland Stage Co. Owen Doyle and Kaitlyn Chantry were convincing in John Shea's morality tale, "Drive." Kevin LaVelle and Joey Del Ponte were compelling as Robert and Bobby Jr. in Jami Brandli's study, "Normal." Devon Jencks and Caryn Andrea Lindsay were quietly moving in K. Alexa Mavromatis' memory piece "Bone China," directed by Sara Newhouse from ASP. Ken Baltin played God--who better?--to Jen Alison Lewis in David Kruh's "Resurrection." Robert Bonotto showed up again with veteran actor William Young in Steven Bogart's slightly fantastic "Men and the Moon." Jennifer Condon was another charming barfly in Robert Mattson's "Martini's Dry & Bitter." Turtle Lane's James Tallach got nice performances from Jonathan Popp and Mark Leahy as the thieves on the cross in Ken Brisbois's "Paul & Eddie." And in Rick Park's jape "Dressed Up Like a Douche", Greg Raposa showed up again, this time with Michael LaChance, as a pair of slackers with Kelley Estes as a bimbo and Harry LaCoste--currently in "Hinterlands"--as the mumbling Boss, "Bruce."
It was a varied and entertaining ten hours, with slightly less serious content than past years but with consistently better writing. Many performances were outstanding, most were first-rate. The simplified staging was adequate to imaginative with outstanding work as always by the volunteer scene change crew. The larger stage at the Wimberley encourages broader playing but gives most pieces more breathing room. New play fans should now get ready for the 37th annual Playwrights' Platform Festival of two different programs, June 8th - 17th at Boston Playwrights'. Hovey Players have their New Works Festival in Waltham, July 28 - Aug. 5. And BTW's Unbound readings occur in August 4 - 7 at the BCA.