Shhhh!
Shhhh! Written and Produced by PB&J Theatre Factory
The Garden Theatre, Winter Garden FL</strong>
I’d like to report “The Butler Did It,” but he was nowhere to be seen. Tonight he “Tears of a Clown” diamond went missing, and the police have no idea where there suspects headed. We do, of course: The Small One (Mark Koenig) and the Big One (Todd Zimmerman) are lurking in the back of the Garden Theatre, looking for a hideout. Soon they mime their way in through an unlocked window of the Mist Ache Inn and accidently leave the “vacancy” sign on. This draws customers, and they have no choice but to bluff their way through the inn keeper’s trade. The diamond is in constant danger of loss in the luggage or cleavage of a guest, and while few words are spoken this troupe of mimes tells a coherent if exaggerated slice of people’s lives. Pat Braillard seeks a missing argyle while he provides the murder weapons to mystery detective Melisa Mason. Her writers block keeps her up while elderly Joseph Siniscalco chases buxom Michelle Feren and witchy Megan Stailey tells fortunes while her pet parrot (Siniscalco) climbs over the set and leaves feathers everywhere.
Sight gags and carefully crafted situations don’t translate well to the internet, but the star of this show was Siniscalco’s parrot – the concept was brilliant, the execution skilled, and he pulled off the best death scene I’ve seen all week. Keonig and Zimmerman did a decent laurel and hardy sthtick, and if crime doesn’t pay they could just keep running this little hide away. This might be the most cohesive PB&J story so far, and its plenty clean for the kids while maintianing enough intellecula gags for those of legal drinking age. It’s funny time funny, and just a bit touching.
For more information on The Garden Theatre, please visit www.gardentheatre.org
For even more info on PB&J Theatre Factory, please visit pbjtheatrefactory.com/
