A Spooky Night at Breakthrough- Mature Version
A Spooky Night at Breakthrough- Mature Version
Directed by Vicki Wicks
Breakthrough Theatre, Winter Park, FL
It wasn’t so much “night” as “late afternoon,” but there were a few good scares in this short play collection that features more than a few local writers. We open with “Bloody Mary” (by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa). Here film nerd Ben (Andrew Emory) heads out with his GF Laurie (Saige Love) to Camp Where-in the Hell to make a horror movie. As they drive, he keeps chanting “Bloody Mary;” 49 recitations might make her appear. While he’s basically a dick here, the script is filled with funny dialog and a long-suffering but faithful woman. Another rib tickler appears in “Sunny Side Asylum” (by Larry Stallings). Kimber (Sharon Tedder) drops by to see about entombing her schizoid mother; but Nurse Betty (Carla Davis) is late bringing the paper work and Dr. Slaughter butchers his attempt to bluff. All is well until Farmer Bob gets loose, then it’s even more unseen blood and guts.
“How You Will Die” (by Irene Pimm) takes a while to get going; here Vicki Wicks runs an establishment that purports to show you your last moments. The price is high and Young Markham (Marcus Davila) can’t pony up the $5k to see if the drug lords will snuff him so it’s up to wealthy dowager Julia (Ginny Fraebel) to help. She shares her experience, Markheim tries a fast switch, and we find out all the results are the same: Death at a ripe old age surrounded by family. If only it were true…
A more complicated piece comes from Joe Kolasa’s “An Unorthodox Exorcism” which finds Howard (Mark Davids) possessed by an elderly Jewish demon who thinks the A/C is too cold. While the older priest (Stallings) can’t budge him, the hipper young priest (Jonathin Vasquez) shames the demon out, only to have the demon move next door. Steve Yockey provided “Bed Time;” here Violet (Grace Trotta) and Julie (Love) discus the dead body of little Billy, who is missing little bits of himself. If only we knew who killed the little guy….
Rochelle Curbow Wheeler gives us “The Darkness.” Sam (Tracey Jane Smith) is haunted by the ghost of her mother (Davis). The ghost throws things, leaves clues, and tortures her as her as she mourns the loss of her child and husband. Her remaining son Felix (Tyler Krutch) cheers her up with vanilla milk, but it’s not enough to overcome the weird adultery that drives the haunting.
Miss Smith wrote the clever “Who’s Afraid of the Boogieman?” Vivi (Sharon Tedder) flirts with the bogeyman (Davila) she hired to keep her sugar-fired child (Avery Smith) under control. Who knew Boogiemen sing up for LinkedIn, or that anyone is on LinkedIn? When she send him upstairs to do the job, it turns out he really IS going to steal the kids, and what fun is that?
Local Impresario John DiDonna sent in a one man monologue called “Home Safe.” Here Sean Kemp explains how much he loves little kids, and he loves them even more if they are dead. By far this was the disturbing story made more so by Kemp’s enthusiastic demeanor.
“Blood Pudding” (by D. Richard Tucker) recasts the vampire experiencing into the 20th century. Barry (Vasquez) gets serious with Lucinda (Trotta), and its time to meet the parental units (Stallings and Wicks). They’re vampires, and the term “lifestyle” arises. Barry is nervous, but the folks calm him down and teach him vampirism is a lot like joining the Republican Party.
In “Morning Becomes Olestra” (By Aguirre-Sacasa) crude, obese Mark Davids works as night watchman at the donut factory as his wife lives a frustrated Tennessee Williams lifestyle. Eventually she calls a night time repairman (Christin Santiago) to fix a mysterious fridge. He’s a total stud muffin; they do it six ways from Sunday, and best of all, he’s a vampire, and not the Republican kind. And once again, Mr. David finds himself dead. He IS good at it. There are ups, there are downs, but overall this is an excellent shorts program with a consistent theme.
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