Coping a Craigie
Coping a Craigie
By R. T. Robeson
Directed by Laurel Clark
Freeline Productions
Red Venue, 2010 Orlando International Fringe Festival</strong>
In a world of mismatched roommates, Dana (Dave McConnell) and Eugene (Alan James Gallant) form a great comedy duo. Eugene is uptight, Jewish, intellectual and employed, while Dana is tattooed, broke, and eats potato chips with his mouth open. The rent is due, Dana can’t pay it, and so we have motivation. Dana thinks he’s God’s gift to women and puts himself out as gigolo on Craig’s List but his only response comes from a gay writer Steven (Michael Colavolpe). Dana is straight, but Pay for Gay doesn’t seem like problem to him, so soon he’s in the money. He finds more work in spanking videos under the artistic direction of angry Marty (Toby S Pruett). Steve writes ad copy for Marty, and his when his brother Tim (Jamie Kline) moves in, he sees money in making their own porn, and soon everyone is getting rich. Find a niche market and fill it, that’s what they teach in business school.
Bizarre as the story is, there’s plenty of comedy here. On one hand McConnell has the perfect dopy attitude to play a dumber-than-Joe Buck gigolo, and Pruett has the psychotic anger of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. When he hauls off and swats McConnell’s butt, the sound is shocking and strawberry enormous. Kline and Colavolpe are a solid paring, they did seem like brothers, Steve (or was it Sean) as the older gay writer and Kline as the younger, straight guy with business sense. Dana had a girlfriend Sandy (Heather Delmotte) but she seemed much too intellectual to hang out with Dana. For a scene or two it looked like she might hook up with Eugene, they seemed like they would actually have something to discuss together after their 5th anniversary. This show has nudity and spanking, but it has an internal logic and cohesiveness that makes it much more enjoyable than its exploitive synopsis might suggest.
This event is part of the 2010 Orlando International Fringe Festival. For schedule and ticket information, please visit http://OrlandoFringe.org
