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Hamburgers flip as this play flops
(by Herb Hammer - November 05, 2008)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
Hamburgers flip as this play flops
Al spends most of his day shredding lettuce, while Matthew, the kitchen manager, flips burgers on the grill. Not so bad for starters, but playwright Cliff Hershman loses his way early and never finds his way back.
The Bang and Clatter Theatre Company, the new stage on Euclid Avenue near Public Square, is performing the world premiere of "International House of Hamburgers," a mess of a play that most likely will never see the light of day again.
Carol, the waitress, asks, "What's he talking about?" She poses the question to everyone in sight. Matthew continues, "What's going on here?" What is going on here? Well, we don't know. In fact, we never know. It appears that the kitchen-manager job is a big deal, though the hamburger joint has but one waitress and no business as far as we can see.
Spencer, from "corporate," has brought in Dennis to take over the kitchen-manager job. Matthew is furious. Spencer calms him down by promising Matthew the flagship kitchen-manager job as soon as it opens. Though fairly clear, the rest is jumbled and anything but funny.
Matthew occasionally imagines himself a football coach, shouting at his players. Al, the lettuce chopper, explains that Matthew does this once in a while.
An illegal takes out the rubbish but has to be hidden in the basement, because immigration has shown up looking for him.
Suddenly, the men from "corporate" show up, and all is a mess, since Carol, the one waitress, has quit.
There is a constant frenzy as Matthew shouts, "This is my kitchen." He backs Spencer against the wall and somehow wins the war. He starts flipping burgers again, and the play ends.
The play is not a play at all. These incidents must have just popped into Mr. Hershman's head. This is his second play, and it's so disjointed you wonder if Bang and Clatter ever got around to reading it.
Christopher Johnston directs, following the playwright's instructions but making it obvious that he doesn't know what's going on either.
Amy Bunce, as the waitress, and Rodney Freeman, as Al, the lettuce man, are the only members of the cast who survive. Both are quite good in spite of the material.
Brian McNally, as Matthew, the kitchen manager, doesn't appear to know why he's doing this play. Rollin McNamara stumbles through, and who can blame him?
It's been some time since this reviewer has seen anything this bad.
A world premiere has a certain excitement built in. But local playwrights rarely succeed. The Bang and Clatter should have known better.
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