Gun Shy - Role Players Ensemble Theatre
Role up another evening of excellent entertainment at the Role Players Ensemble Theatre with their current production of Richard Dresser’s dark comedy about love, divorce and marriage, in Gun Shy. Director Scott Fryer is presenting an absolutely terrific cast that has captured what I feel without question, is the true essence of the author’s intent.
In this humorous and poignant comedy, four people, two of whom are divorced and the other two are their respective rebound partners, are discovering how difficult it is to enter new relationships when they are still carrying around old baggage, old wounds and even, old love. New relationships are hard enough, but our couples have found that new toads have warts as well as the old toads. This comedy quickly demonstrates how we sometimes go from the frying pan into the soup, trying to get away from the perceived problems in one relationship and into a new and hopefully, better one.
Evie and Duncan are a recently divorced couple who have set out to find new relationships to validate their self-worth. Evie (Heidi Hooker) has met a handsome single coffee sales manager by the name of Carter (Irakli Tabidze). His boss calls him much more than a simple success, he calls him a visionary. Evie wants more than just a sexual change, she wants someone who is devoted to her every wish, every question, and every need for affirmation. She even wants marriage and another child as well. It is all more than Carter can grasp. He feels love and frustration as Evie demands more and more attention.
On the other hand, Evies’ ex, Duncan, has more than his share of hang-ups as he is totally frustrated with his inability to communicate with his ex-wife. He, like Evie, is still seeking to prove that there is nothing wrong with him. Duncan (Robin Abbott) owns a local moving company and he is moving right along with the very lovely Caitlin (Leslie Noel), who is significantly younger than Duncan’s former wife, Evie. Caitlin is not really looking forward to a long term commitment and children. In fact, she preferred the relationship they had, when they were just having an affair while Duncan was still married to Evie.
Ah yes, the wicked webs we weave! Somehow, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence - - that is, until one starts to graze on the other side of the fence.
The first act is a series of vignettes from these new couples’s lives which sets us up for the big showdown in the second act, when both couples end up snowbound in New England where they have gathered to “share” a birthday with Evie and Duncan’s son (who is supposed to be coming home from boarding school for the event). With child custody issues looming, Evie’s new found pregnancy, Caitlin’s gun-toting escapade, and everybody being just a bit “Gun Shy”, the comedy comes fast and furious.
This is a very funny show with some terrific acting and great direction. Each actor brings his character to full fruition allowing you to really understand each one. Irakli is outrageously funny as he spurts profanities about his former cheating wife in a brief tourette’s staccato on several occasions. Caitlin is sweetly endearing as she clearly states her true emotional motive for engaging in this relationship with Duncan. Both Duncan and Evie are husband an wife in real life, and with that grounding, they bring a genuineness to their characterization that is believable and charming, without being alarming. Clarke Feusier plays a number of minor characters, such as a waiter, nurse, and paramedic, very well.
Every aspect of this show is well done, from costumes by Chantal Guyette, to set design by Diane McRice, stage management by Samantha Fryer and lighting by David Lam. This very enjoyable comedy plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., now through May 13th. The Village Theatre is located at 233 Front Street in Danville. Ticket prices range from $13 to $22 and there is free parking available next to the theater or on the street nearby. Call (925) 314-3463 for ticket and reservation information or visit their website at www.villagetheatreshows.com and checkout Gun Shy.