Thomas Souhrada, left, and James Hindman in Penguin Rep's production of "Popcorn Falls," now in production through May 28. Tickets at penguinrep.org. Photo courtesy Penguin Rep.
Sometimes, a gift is a box in shiny paper, tied in ribbon. Or a long overdue conversation with a friend.
And sometimes a gift involves sitting in a room with about a hundred other people, watching two grown men run around for over an hour -- pretending to be mayors and villains, spinsters and divorcees, janitors, juveniles and a long-tailed cat -- and laughing out loud.
That last gift is "Popcorn Falls," the madcap play by James Hindman, opening the mainstage season at Penguin Rep in Stony Point in a run through May 28. It's a gift you should give yourself and anyone you know who could use a good laugh. (And, really, who couldn't use a good laugh?)
It stars playwright Hindman and co-conspirator Thomas Souhrada, who shares "Popcorn Falls" directing credits with Penguin newcomer Rose Riccardi. Together, they fill the tiny Penguin stage with nearly two dozen characters in a lively, laugh-filled 90 minutes.
The premise is simple: The town of Popcorn Falls has lost its namesake, stopped up by an upriver concern, and is on the brink of disappearing altogether. There is a glimmer of hope, though, in the form of a long-ago grant and a promised big check. All they've got to do is to put on a play to open a flood of town-restoring funding.
"Popcorn Falls" is unapologetically more Andy Hardy and Snidely Whiplash than Ibsen, but there's an endearing and effective simplicity at work here.
- Changes of scene are achieved by the actors shifting tables and chairs, the new location scrawled on a blackboard.
- Characters shift at breakneck speed, with the barest of change courtesy of costume designer Patricia Doherty: a hat here, a monocle there, a shirt repurposed as an apron.
- Jessica Parks' set holds surprises of its own, to the delight of the appreciative Penguin audience.
Hindman and Souhrada positively ping-pong around the set, with Hindman at the sensible center as Popcorn Falls' new mayor, Mr. Trundle.
Souhrada is a whirling dervish of credible characters careering about the place. No sooner does he exit stage left as "executive custodian" Joe than he is knocking at the stage right door as Pastor Peter with the drooping steeple.
Souhrada's changes are complete and honest, whether it's the one-armed lumber-yard owner (something about a phone pole and a stripper, don't ask), the selfie-obsessed high school senior named Margie with vocal fry and unlimited data, or a little girl named Lydia with rain boots and an idea about the mayor and her mom.
But it's as Lydia's mother Becky that Souhrada finds the beating heart behind all the silliness, simply by softening his voice, tucking his fingers around his ear to suggest a hairdo, and speaking from the heart. The patch on his costume might still read "Joe," but the anxieties and regrets are all Becky's. And we feel for her.
Hindman's credits include last season's Penguin musical "Now Comes the Fun Part," the Outer Critics and Drama Desk nominated "Pete 'n' Keely," and the Drama Desk nominated "The Audience." A New York production of "Popcorn Falls" was directed by Tony-winner Christian Borle. Souhrada appeared in that Borle-directed production. His Broadway and national tour credits include "Mary Poppins," "Kinky Boots" and "The Boy Friend," directed by Julie Andrews.
"Popcorn Falls" isn't the first show to demand much of two actors. The "Greater Tuna" series by the great Joe Sears and Jaston Williams comes immediately to mind. But when I think of those achievements, they seem in memory to be more about the quick-changing costumes. Yes, Sears and Williams made those characters real, but with a net not employed in "Popcorn Falls." Here, it's done with a raised eyebrow, a mimed cigarette, an ironclad accent.
The laughs come easy from the Penguin audience, always eager to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. It's a formula that has brought Penguin's plenipotentiary Joe Brancato and executive director Andrew Horn into a 45th season, bringing a stable of friends to the barn theater on Crickettown Road.
The audience for Thursday's 7 p.m. curtain (another gift) included playwrights and actors from the barn-theater's past. Among them: Broadway's Karen Ziemba ("Curtains," "Bullets Over Broadway," "Contact"), who appeared in "Shooting Star" opposite Gregg Edelman; playwright Tom Dudzick of "Greetings!" and "Don't Talk to the Actors" and "Miracle of South Division Street" fame; Jason Pizzarello, whose Penguin reading of "BRAT" was directed by Bob Balaban and starred Edie Falco last month; Cary Gitter, author of "The Virtuous Life of Joseph Andrews" and "The Sabbath Girl"; and Robert Montano, whose jockey story "Small" from last season is prepping a late-summer run Off-Broadway at 59E59.
Come to think of it, Penguin is another gift, a barn-shaped gift brimming with talent and goodwill, where the parking is free, the audiences are willing and the laughter echoes off the rafters. What a gift that is.
Well into the action of the play, Becky tells Mr. Trundle about a life-changing moment she had in a theater, one that sparked an epiphany for her.
"Wouldn't I be the luckiest person in the world if I could be a part of something that brought people together like this?" she wonders. "To share an experience that has never happened before, and will never happen again?"
Yes, you would, Becky.
Yes, you would.
"Popcorn Falls"
What: A 90-minute intermissionless comedy about an imperiled town that must save itself by staging a play.
Where: Penguin Rep, 7 Crickettown Road, Stony Point.
When: Through May 28. Remaining schedule: Thursdays at 7; Fridays at 7; Saturdays at 3 and 7, Saturdays at 3 and 7; Sundays at 2.
Note: A discussion follows the May 26 performance.
Tickets: Individual tickets are $46. Discounts for season tickets, for groups of ten or more and for those age 30 and younger.
Contact: www.penguinrep.org or 845-786-2873.
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