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One-Act Festival - Lamplighter Community Theatre

By Robert Hitchcox

Lamplighters Community Theatre's One-Act Play Festival features two of the top playwrights in San Diego, David Wiener and Jim Caputo. Three of the plays are directed by actor Mark Loveless and one by actor Les Payne. Here's a quick look at what you can see.

An Honest Arrangement by David Wiener is directed by Mark Loveless and stars Dave Rethoret as Willie and Michelle DeFrancesco as Nara. A mailorder bride arrives from Eastern Europe to meet her new husband. This piece has been done by this couple on several occasions. They own it. Both have added to their characterizations, creating even more than playwright Wiener could have imagined. You won't forget the story of Nara and Willie.

Hello Mom? by James Caputo is directed by Mark Loveless with Pamela Fadden as Jane and Michael Dino Grulli as Frank. After a long phone conversation with mom all Jane wants is a little peace and quiet while drinking her designer coffee and doing the crossword puzzle. Enter a bothersome Frank. His cell phone rings while he's getting coffee. She answers it. One thing leads to another. A delightful one-act.

The Body Shop, an offering by James Caputo features Barbra Hoffman as Mary O'Mallery and Pamela Fadden as Amy. Set in a funeral parlor, it opens with Mary talking to the deceased. Enter a young weeping Amy who has wandered in from a nearby hospital after visiting her father. This is a tender piece about professional mourning, the pain that one sees in life, and a short uniting of these two.

Bride on the Rocks by David Wiener with Mark Loveless directing and Michelle DeFrancesco as Andrea and Dave Rethoret as Lloyd. Andrea has been stood up at her wedding and is knocking back the shots, which bartender Lloyd pours. Lloyd, being a proper bartender, attempts to limit her drinking and becomes a figure of reason for the disconsolate Andrea.

The plays run Wednesday and Thursday, October 17 and 18 and Monday and Tuesday, October 22 and 23 at the La Mesa Women's Club, 5220 Wilson Street, La Mesa, CA. Show time is 7:30 p.m., which makes for an early midweek evening. I hope you get to see these plays; it was great fun.

Critic: Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2007

Lamplighters Community Theatre
La Mesa Women's Club
5220 Wilson Street
La Mesa, California
Box Office Phone 619 469-6433

Robert Hitchcox is a playwright, critic and fiction author.