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'Receptionist' surely does have answers
(by Herb Hammer - March 18, 2009)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
'Receptionist' surely does have answers
That vagabond professional theater company is at it again, this time performing Adam Bock's disturbing comedy "The Receptionist."
In a tidy, quiet, comfortable space at the Pilgrim Congregational Church on West 14th Street, Dobama Theatre gets its usual high marks for performance, staging and all-around cleverness.
This time out, they have to be clever. Mr. Bock's simple-yet-wandering comedy, though a mere 70 minutes long, uses up half its time on office fluff.
We start high above the stage, where Mr. Raymond, the office chief, talks about his favorite sport, fly fishing, to no one in particular. He describes in great detail the art of this sport and what he does with the fish once caught.
Though up front, the suspicious may notice this to be more than the gossipy, go-nowhere television sitcom it surely appears to be.
Beverly is the title character of this short, one-act talkathon. She sits at her switchboard (Dobama provides only a telephone) and answers in a cheery voice, "northeast office," dozens of times. The calls are either for Mr. Raymond or his aide, Lorraine, whose office is on the other side of the set. Several calls are for her.
A lightweight comedy? Just wait.
Lorraine cries her heart out to Beverly, who manages to console the man-crazy, ditzy blonde.
Much of the time, Beverly fields phone calls, sending them into voice mail for Lorraine and Mr. Raymond, who are usually somewhere else. Lorraine sits sobbing, because she doesn't look as beautiful as the young women on the magazine covers.
At the halfway point, you can't help but wonder what's going on here. What does this northeast office do? The playwright won't disappoint, I promise.
Clues are being dropped all over the place. But it's not until the dashing, well-dressed Mr. Dart, from the central office, turns up in need of meeting with Mr. Raymond, who comes and goes.
One or two lines are dropped that might make your skin crawl, but they are quickly left behind. Though now, we're getting somewhere.
Lissy Gulick is priceless as Beverly, the receptionist. She plays everyone's friend, and, by now, every time she answers "northeast office" there are giggles trickling down from the audience.
Tom Woodward's Mr. Dart, though extremely nice to the women, tilts the play in an odd direction. At this point, you might start scrambling to find what you might have missed in all this silly gossip.
Now, I must stop describing the slim storyline. To move on would spoil the whole play.
Jennifer Klika, as Lorraine, has had several adventures with men, both married and single. Miss Klika plays this manless role with honest silliness.
Michael Regnier, as Mr. Raymond, fits right in but has something on his mind he hasn't quite revealed. Mr. Regnier never lets you down. He's been performing around this town for several years.
Tom Woodward, black suit, shoes and tie, is pleasant enough, although something appears to be going on underneath. Mr. Woodward plays this part just right, kind and understanding, yet you fear that he just may turn the play upside down.
Playwright Adam Bock just may have an ax to grind with modern intelligence gathering. Yet he goes a long way before revealing it.
"The Receptionist" is right for those who pay close attention in hopes of finding the real plot. If not, you do find out after all, and the play may leave you a little breathless.
Due to the shortness of the one-act, Eric Coble has been commissioned to write a 15-minute tidbit staged just in front of "The Receptionist." He calls his play "H.R."
We are with another group of foolish office people who have nothing to do with the second play. These people are always frightened.
Michael Regnier appears as the assistant to Lissy Gulick from play No. 2. Again, we don't know what these people do actually, but frightened they are, for Frank, Mr. Regnier, has just announced that H.R., better known as human resources, is coming in from corporate. Someone is sure to lose their job.
After a whole lot of insanity, we find that H.R. isn't coming in today. They may come in tomorrow, or another day.
The mayhem settles down, and everyone goes back to work.
Mr. Coble has dashed off a very funny script. Character development is thrown to the winds. And for 15 minutes, everyone gets their share of the laughs.
Tom Woodward and Jennifer Klika also appear.
Dobama Theatre will settle into its Cleveland Heights permanent home this fall. The theater has done fine work for decades. Loyal subscribers are all looking forward to the new building.
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