Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
The World Premiere of the new comedy Pointy Scissors perfectly celebrates Theatre West, and its 63rd year of existence. This vicinity in North Hollywood, Universal City, and Studio City has been established in 1962, and stands as one of the oldest continually running professional theatre companies in the city of Los Angeles. It operates on a membership base, and serves actors, playwrights, directors, and technicians.
Playwright Clara Rodriguez had a lot of fun creating this play, a farce that digs into the characters with enormous flexibility in expression. She is truly exploring for most of the actors to go all the way to the top within the flow of silliness, and by creating an extraordinary movement, they surely don’t hold anything back but look for ways to be hilarious. And they surely are. One laughs continuously throughout the play. This high energy play with rapid pace gives us a farce in the truest sense of the word. Rodriguez, who also directs, encourages her actors to soar high and be silly to the max. And audience loves it.
And all the characters are so quite different. ‘Good’ and ‘normal’ sister Betty, played so beautifully by Angela Bruning, processes everything with her sensibility and it’s the most rational character in the play. She takes care of everyone. She especially guards her brother Arnie; a naive and kind man who reveals the truth with his childlike, mildly autistic personality. Arnie, portrayed by Steve Young, is a barber in the shop owned by his loving sister Betty. With his innocent answers, he is original and liked by everyone. One day, he’s giving a haircut to the meanest, nastiest gangster in town – Carlos played by Anibal Silveyra, when he accidentally sticks his new pair of pointy scissors into Carlos’ ear. And for the rest, I would recommend seeing the play, especially if you are fond of laughing and being entertained, because there is so much going on …
All the characters in the play found a specific temperament and flew with it happily. Richy Storrs portrays Sammy, Danielle Weeks is Deborah (Betty’s and Anies sister), and Monika Vidakovic plays Molly (Carlos’s girlfriend). They bounce off each other with alluring energy, but there are moments when some characters truly enjoy their given role and play it with comical influence.
Produced by Writers-in-Residence Series by Bonnie Kalisher Dukes, Production Stage Manager is Leesa Freed. Simple and fun Set Design, Lighting and Sound Design is Ernest McDaniel.
Pointy Scissors at Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Boulevard West, in Los Angeles, CA 90068 runs from November 7- December 7on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00, and Sundays at 3:00. Admission is $35 online, $40 at the door. Students and seniors, $30. There is street parking, and there is parking in a privately-operated lot across the street (credit card only).
Order tickets by calling (323) 851-4839, or online ticketing at http://theatrewest.org