Marion Art Center is not your grandmother’s theater.
It is clear that the center is leaping into edgier material, hoping to attract audiences craving productions outside the typical realm of classical theater.
Romantic Fools, a vaudeville comedy playing at 8:00 pm on March 23 and 24 at the MAC, represents this move toward contemporary theater. It joins the other recent adult-only shows at MAC, including You’ve Got Hate Mail and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, with some material you probably wouldn’t want to watch with your parents.
The play includes 11 two-character sketches that explore all of the complicated – and often hilarious – dynamics that can happen in male-female relationships, with scene names like “Nightmare with a Sexy Skirt,” “At the Orgy,” “Find Me a Primitive Man,” “Stepford Guy” and “Power is the Greatest Aphrodisiac.”
“We are trying to go outside the box. If we keep doing [only classical] shows, people will stop coming,” said Romanic Fools Director Sheila Furtado. “We do this just to be contemporary.”
For frequent MAC goers, Romantic Fools has a lot of familiar faces – including real-life married couples Kim and Richard Teves, Mary and Brad Cardwell, Holly and John Ashley – as well as Nancy Sparklin, Jay Ryan and Jamie Alves. Newcomers Justine Brown and Gregory Ruf also joined the cast.
The talent of this group is a major draw for a lot of the audience, Furtado said. Over their many performances, “they’ve all gelled,” she said.
“This group has incredible comedic talent,” she said, remarking that many of their antics on stage were self-created. This is particularly true in one hilarious scene where a woman has a blind date with a primitive man (Ruf), who offers her meat, flowers and an animal hide. “You can’t direct grunts,” Furtado said.
Romantic Fools is definitely the funniest show I’ve seen at MAC, and the top-notch performances transformed a decent script on vignettes on relationships, dating, lust and love into a truly hilarious comedy.
One of best scenes is about a man’s ultimate desire – which we learn after he invites over a prostitute (played hilariously by Teves). Instead of exciting sex, he said that all he wanted was dull sex, to which the woman confessed that it is “very popular”.
The prostitute changes from her regular gear into oversized pajamas and hair rollers and when complimented, she says, “These are my nana’s.” Maybe you had to be there, but I was in stitches.
Also Sparklin and Ryan are very funny in one scene about an orgy, that turns into an Abbott and Costello skit about “whose on top.” And their second performance, “Vegetarians in Lust,” is even funnier. It is about a couple who find that dirty talk about processed foods and meat is just what they need to get in the mood.
Furtado said that the MAC will continue to push the edge in its choice of productions, hoping to set to stage some of the lesser-known shows. It was also announced that due to its popularity, the center will present the popular musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change again this summer.
The MAC is located at 80 Pleasant St, Marion. Tickets for Romantic Fools are $10 for MAC Members and $12.50 for non-members. It is highly recommended to call for reservations: 508-748-1266. Cabaret tables may be reserved for parties of four.
By Laura Fedak Pedulli
