Petit Four

Upwrap Your Candy

by Mark Cofta

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Published: Oct 25, 2006

As much as I love one-act plays, I concede that a bill of them is a tricky affair: Like hors d'oeuvres, they sometimes satisfy, but also may leave us hungry.

Luna Theater's Unwrap Your Candy, an 80-minute "evening" by Doug Wright (Quills and I Am My Own Wife), more resembles a bag of Halloween treats: Three of the four plays are nearly the same flavor (ironic horror, reminiscent of The Twilight Zone), but if that's what fills you up, it's entertaining.

Actually, the comedic curtain raiser, "Unwrap Your Candy," almost qualifies as horror: Luna's ensemble plays an audience indulging in all the deadly sins of theatergoing: pagers chirping, cell phones ringing (and answered during the show — which I witnessed for real at another theater this weekend!), a man nodding off and snoring, and, of course, the dreaded candy wrapper crinkling. I only wish Wright served them their just desserts, rather than showing them taking over the theater.

In "Lot 13: the Bone Violin," blue-collar parents played by Kirsten Quinn and Allen Radway tell the story of their son, a self-made violin prodigy, with Chris Fluck as his awestruck teacher and Jaidy Schweers as a scientist studying whether talent is learned or innate. Eerily lit by music stand lights, the son's story gradually builds to its creepy finale.

"Wildwood Park" also builds slowly, and though its secret is easily guessed, Quinn (brilliantly edgy, despite an unfortunate blond wig) as a spooked real estate agent and Fluck as a mysterious client navigate the suspense well, overcoming some distracting blackouts.

"The Baby" combines chills and humor as Schweers plays a crazed woman who hears her baby talking to her — from the womb. Told to the audience similarly to "Lot 13," with Fluck as the hapless husband and Quinn as a narrating lawyer, the tale unfolds skillfully. Radway is hilarious as the cigarette-smoking, Jack-swigging fetus, speaking like a jaded comedian from a microphone in this witty take on postpartum depression.

Director Gregory Scott Campbell covers scene changes cleverly by wading into the audience with a flashlight: When he spotlights individuals, we hear their outrageous inner thoughts. He crafts a swift-moving evening of delightful morsels — not a full meal, perhaps, but around Halloween, this candy assortment tastes just fine.

(m_cofta@citypaper.net)

Upwrap Your Candy

Through Nov. 12, Luna Theater Co., Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, Ninth and Walnut sts.,215-704-0033, www.lunatheater.org

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