All New People
All New People
By Zach Braff
Directed by Jake Teixeira and Alex Aragon
Point Blank Productions
Presented at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, Orlando FL</strong>
Deep dark secrets permeate our lives, they make us unhappy but they also make us interesting. Charlie (Teixeira) snuck off to his buddy’s summer home on some eastern island reserved for rich people. His plan is to do himself in, his dark secret cost lives and was splattered on the front page of The Times. Illegal immigrant Emma (Carol Crosby) had little beyond a British accent when she arrived; she’s on the lam for less public but still heinous reasons. Her refuge is selling overpriced real estate and her chance sales visit saves Charlie’s life but draws the local fireman and connection Myron (Alex Argon). Pretty soon its party time, and what’s party without a Party Girl? Not knowing his plans, Charlie’s buddy sent along a very expensive present called “Kim,” she describes herself as “The Louis Vuitton of Vagina.” It’s one of those wild impromptu parties you never get invited to, but then you don’t have to reveal all your secrets just to reach a dramatic climax.
And dramatic it is, the show starts and ends very darkly but is a screaming laugh fest along the way. Charlie is the straight man; he’s hung up on hanging himself because he did bad, but even worse: he has no friends. Emma is the sort of girl you know he has to fall in love with, it’s in her gawky manners and nerdy glasses and you can still put that chestnut on stage today and damn it, it still works. The comic heavy lifting comes from Myron; he’s crass, obvious and reminds you of an early John Belushi, complete with a drug habit. And little Kim’s as cute as a bug, the sort of microscopic bug that gets under your skin and leaves microscopic little poops.
You’ll have to see the show to get that reference, but all this takes place with a manic energy and disregard for propriety, and the only real down side here is an unusual phonetic alphabet and a very short run. This is a very young cast, all of them are still in school, but they’ve gotten hold of a solid script and made it into something both brilliantly funny and heartbreakingly touching.
Point Blank Productions does not seem to have aw web presence. Amazing.
