Play Review: Off Book

Off Book was written by my friend, David Gallic. David and I met when he was playing Audrey Two, the man-eating plant, in the production of Little Shop of Horrors that I stage managed. He is a great big teddy bear, someone with whom I always enjoy spending time. A wonderful conversationalist, David is very witty and always has us in stitches, so I knew any play that he wrote would do the same.

I was not disappointed. Ricky and I went to see David's show tonight (after a dinner at the pub - yum!). Several others from New Century Players were supposed to be there as well, but a couple were sick and others cancelled for various reasons, so it ended up just being Ricky and me. I am sad for those who missed out; tonight was closing night, and this was not a play to be missed.

Off Book is a story about a man, Corgan Bryan, who realizes he is the character in a play and wants out of the script so that he can be free to live his own life. He meets the writer, who fulfills his wishes...only to find that maybe freedom isn't so great after all. When he realizes he has no idea of what to do, having no prior experience to draw on, he decides he wants back into the script. Act One is all about his journey to get out of the script, while Act Two, then, is about his quest to be let back in. In the end, he finds out that everything he did all along as scripted, with the moral being that we are all characters in someone's play.

It's quite existentialist and deep, but extremely funny as well. Ricky and I were dying at times we were laughing so hard. At one point I looked around and saw that everyone's faces looked the same: We all had that "help me, I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe" look. That is not something that is easy to elicit from me, and David did an incredible job in writing a very funny, yet very meaningful, play.

The direction was good, though there were a few too many backs for my liking. The theatre was a thrust, with seating on three sides, which can be difficult to direct. However, I did think it could have been addressed a bit better. But once I got past that there were some marvelous character things that were done that only added to the depth of the play.

The acting was stellar from some, good from others. There are always actors who are stronger and those who are weaker. I thought Narrator could have had more differential between his Narrator self and his "real" self, but the character was funny and charming and quirky, so I forgave him quickly. The actress playing Lexi did an amazing job of differentiating between Sexy Lexi the character and Alexis, the writer who changes her script to give Corgan freedom. John Duncan's portrayel of The Director was superb.

Overall, it was a show not to be missed. There weren't a lot of special effects, no fancy lighting. Simply a very funny play, written by a very funny man and played out by very funny and charming people. Ricky and I both thoroughly enjoyed our night out, and hope that someone else will produce David's show in the future so we can see it again.