What I liked
And it became quite obvious that the first one, “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls,” is a spoof of “The Glass Menagerie” with Michael Mullens as the overbearing mother (Amanda) with the two sons, Lawrence and Tom, amounting to not much of anything except confused, and a feminine caller who is so hard of hearing she has no idea that her entire purpose for being there is to marry poor Lawrence (who reminds her she used to cal him “blue roses”) and get him out of the house – taking his glass menagerie of swizzle sticks with him! Imaginative writing, acting, staging and especially directing.
What I didn't like
I watched the show virtually and the sound often dimmed to the point of not being able to hear the actors clearly. Then at times it seemed to get corrected and all was well. So I hope during future virtual performances, that aspect of the show will run perfect from start to finish.
My overall impression
Durang’s characters as so off the wall and larger than life, the direction of these plays has to match the craziness of the stories with a cast that can handle the absurdity of it all. And Kristin Towers-Rowles understands that and keeps the action as hectic as the thoughts going through the characters’ minds while the actors enjoy chewing the scenery!
This is especially true during “The Actor’s Nightmare” when an understudy for Edwin Booth is called upon to take on his role at the last minute without any rehearsal – and he has no idea what play is being done nor his lines nor the blocking. In fact, perhaps he isn’t even an actor since he keeps going to sit in the audience to bemoan what is happening to him.
This one of the four had me laughing from start to finish, and just being glad it was not my own nightmare!
