What I liked
I love this take on contemporary history through a somewhat absurdist lens.
What I didn't like
I give this the greatest compliment that I can give any new work – I WANT MORE! This bad boy can be 2o minutes longer and give us an even deeper exploration of these rich characters in a comically, yet realistic, absurd situation.
My overall impression
The lights go down and we start 8 seconds into Adriano Celentano’s Prisencolinensinainciusol. If you don’t know this track, stop reading this review and go give it a whirl on YouTube and then come back. I’ll wait.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDY3HFkh_Y
All right, great, you’re back, dug it, huh? Yeah, well that’s how this mother fucker starts. It sent a chill up my spine and butterflies in my belly. You know you are in good hands when you get a tinge of jealousy in your soul because the playwright/director chose a song that really fucks and now you can never use it.
This was my fourth Benjamin Schwartz experience and I have yet to be let down. But I’d like to say that this one was the most special. I always enjoy Benjamin’s writing, but I’ve never experienced his direction, and I must admit, his directing skills rival his writing chops. This thing moves like gangbusters with nary a lag.
The cast delivers the goods. Anchored by Spencer Weitzel. The three other game performers; Ryan Lisman, Jaz Dicey and Brian Graves are all given the proper moments to shine in Schwartz’s taut script.
Produced by Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Lisman, Suck My Tongue is the inaugural production for the newly formed Catharsis Theatre Collective. I do hope they will explore and present this piece in a full 80 – 90 minute production sometime in the near future.
