Skip to content

Essential Theatre Premieres Three Plays

2013 July 29
by Susan Asher


Essential Theatre is premiering three plays by Georgia playwrights through Aug. 11 at Actor’s Express. Playing in rep are “Mysterious Connections” by Peter Hardy, “Swimming With Jellyfish” by Katie Grant Shalin, and winner of the 2013 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award, “Stray Dogs,” by Matthew Myers.

Saturday I saw the ethereal “Mysterious Connections,” a non-chronological story with mythological references that left me baffled through much of the play. Pamela (Celia Gunn-Zaboli) chases her dreams and her soul, while playing games with her admirer, Travis (Ben Silver) and courting Isobel (Daryl Lisa Fazio). The ghost and dream scenes were difficult to understand, but it makes sense at the end as the story is all pulled together.

The standout of this show is the refreshing and delightful character Jonesy (Nancy Powell), who blathers endlessly but is the life of the play. Believable and charming throughout the show, Powell is a consummate actor, whom I look forward to seeing on the stage again. The other actors weren’t believable, and Pamela often could not be heard.

The three new plays be Georgia writers run through Aug. 11 at Actor’s Express.  Tickets are available at Essential Theatre.

 

Leave a Reply

Note: You may use basic HTML in your comments. Your email address will not be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.