Here are a few excerpts from Edge of the World Theatre’s production of “My Narrator”:
“The place had the kind of clientele you’d find at an unsanctioned cockfight.”
“But I really want a beer.”
“Intellectuals drink wine.”
“That doesn’t help me.”
“Would you like a glass with that? I could go borrow one.”
“I changed all the lightbulbs to 15 watt.”
“What if you wanted to read a book?” “Yeah, right.”
And there’s more. So much more.
“My Narrator” is a new comedy by Norm Foster. It’s high-caliber and dialogue-rich, just a wonderful tapestry of clever one-liners. Besides that, it’s just darn, darn funny.
In fact, “My Narrator” is just the first show of a triple feature of dialogue-driven comedies that opened at Edge of the World Theatre last weekend and runs through July 12.
Based on the old movie matinee lineups — a feature and two hilarious shorts — Edge tried something new with its triple-decker offering and it’s playing out in spades. It’s three funny shows for the price of one and that’s the kind of value that will make you laugh out loud for two hours and make you smile all the way to the bank.
One three-word hint for the cast, though: Wait for it. On opening night, cast members went too quickly from one zinger to another and didn’t allow enough time for the audience to finish laughing. With dialogue as good as this, we don’t want to miss a word.
That’s just a small blemish for a cast that was virtually flawless. They were perfectly cast, had terrific comic timing and were versatile.
Edge veteran Stephanie McBain was a standout as Barb in “My Narrator,” serving lines with superb sarcasm and, when necessary, some serious sex appeal. McBain shifted deftly into her role as Wilma in Edge’s second show, “Johnny &Wilma.”
Steve Heiret played a refreshingly inept though guileless Miles in “My Narrator,” who was the funny man counterpart to comic foil Lacy, played by Edge newcomer Stephanie Holser. Holser was competent as the young artist Lacy but then really showed her comic mastery as the elderly Muriel in Edge’s final show, “I’m Herbert.” In that play, Michael McFadden, who was a charming and classy Bob in “My Narrator,” was absolutely a hoot as Herbert.
All three shows revolve around the relationship between a man and a woman. “My Narrator” deals with the sunrise of this partnership. Lacy, a struggling artist, has found herself with a bigger-than-life version of that little voice in your head: a narrator, whom she calls Barb, and who guides her through life. Lacy meets the bumbling Miles, “who has no discernible social skills,” and Barb tries to steer Lacy away from him. But Miles gets his own narrator, Bob, who falls for Barb (“You’ve been doing this for 130 years huh? Well you look great. Do you work out?”) So while the two narrators are hitting it off, their mortals’ relationship is floundering, and that’s when the frivolity begins.
The second show, “Johnny &Wilma,” is a look at a couple in mid-relationship. Wilma wants to have sex. Johnny wants to sleep. The two wind up sparring in a physical joke-fest that seems to combine elements of “The Dick Van Dyke” show (or insert your favorite married-couple sitcom) with big time wrestling.
In the last show, “I’m Herbert,” the couple, Muriel and Herbert, are in the sunset of their marriage. They really know each other too well. Are way past sex. In fact, they’ve both been around for so long and had such a variety of spouses and lovers that their biggest challenge now is just remembering each other’s names.
The hilarity of this twosome takes on a real Abbot and Costello “Who’s on First” back-and-forth that makes it challenging to catch your breath between belly laughs.
Reporter Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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