OFF OFF LOOP THEATER FESTIVAL
Blind Parrot Productions
Add to the pleasant shock of falling in love the additional surprise of some unlikely lovers, and you’ve got the agreeable setup for the Wednesday bill of the Off Off Loop Theater Festival. This year’s programs in the non-Equity theater showcase are conveniently arranged by theme, and these three stylistically diverse one-acts depict the varied ways three ill-suited couples come together: a contrived “meeting cute” pairing in Bailiwick Repertory’s inane offering, a surreal encounter in the one-act by Blind Parrot Productions, and a hilarious merger in the Griffin Theatre Company’s ingenious contribution.
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Griffin’s Sex Lives of Superheroes is a delightful discovery–a four-star charmer by Stephen Gregg, the perfect mouse-that-roared comedy. Its nebbishy unhero, Michael, is victimized by Lisa, a vindictive ex-girlfriend who left him two years earlier but still barges into his apartment every Wednesday to remove more of her belongings–and his, too. Timid Michael has even given Lisa keys to facilitate her weekly home invasions.
Equally right is David Williams’s deft direction: without ever forfeiting their splendid silliness, the cartoon characters still make themselves matter. G. Scott Thomas plays Michael without a shred of self-pity, Jill Murray’s Elenor sweetly completes Michael’s quirks with her own daffy excess, and Kimberly Muller gives Lisa an icy ire that cries out for comeuppance.
It turns out that Gary’s little darling set up this meeting because she knows Gary and the saccharinely named Cinnamon are perfect for each other. And gosh, she’s right: Cinnamon understands Rebecca’s need for discipline and a mother figure, and Gary does need a helpmate.
